ISTANBUL, Reuters -Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said that Turks should save all of their money in lira. He also stated that the recent volatility in exchange rates was under control since the lira has been weakening sharply over the past two months.

Erdogan stated that Erdogan wanted his citizens to have their savings and run their businesses using their own money in an address in Istanbul.

We are all doomed to fall if we stop using our own money for a guide. Our money is the Turkish Lira. This foreign currency is not the one we will use.

Erdogan addressed a group of businessmen and called upon Turks to deposit their gold into the bank system. He also reiterated his unconventional view that inflation was caused by interest rates.

The president stated that “for some time we have been fighting the battle to save the Turkish economy the cycle of high rates and high inflation and take it on the path for growth through investments, employment and production.”

“Interest rates down, interest rates up. Let’s take this, friends. Interest rates can make the rich wealthier and the poor less fortunate.

The recent fall in the Turkish lira has caused Turks to lose their earnings. However, it recovered from the all-time low 18.4 against the dollar last week following the implementation of a scheme by the state to safeguard local deposits from losses due to depreciation versus hard currencies.

At 0943 GMT TRYTOM=D3 stood at 13.295, which was still below 40%, the lowest performance emerging market currency.

Erdogan’s pressure to increase credit and trade led to the emergence of the lira crises. The central bank cut its interest rates by 500 basis points in September.