TURKISH president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country will boycott US-made electronic goods amid a diplomatic spat that has helped trigger a Turkish currency crisis.

Showing no signs of backing down in his country’s stand-off with America, Erdogan suggested that Turkey would stop procuring US-made iPhones and buy Korean Samsung or Turkish-made Vestel devices instead.

He said: “If they have the iPhone, there is Samsung elsewhere. We have Vestel.”

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It is unclear how Erdogan intends to enforce the boycott.

The president also renewed a call for Turks to convert their dollars into the Turkish lira, to help strengthen the currency.

The Turkish lira has nosedived in value in the past week over concerns about Erdogan’s economic policies. The situation worsened after the US slapped sanctions on Turkey amid anger over the continued detention of an American pastor in Turkey.

Investors seemed to look through Edrogan’s rhetoric, pushing the lira off record lows amid reports that Turkish and US government officials have held talks.

The move is seen to be in retaliation to America’s decision to sanction two Turkish ministers over the continued detention of an American pastor on terror-related charges, and to double tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium imports.

Behind the scenes, however, diplomatic dialogue appears to have resumed. Turkey’s state-run news agency and US officials say White House national security adviser John Bolton had met the Turkish ambassador to Washington on Monday.

That helped ease tensions in financial markets, with the Turkish lira stabilising somewhat near record lows.

Investors are worried not only about Turkey’s souring relations with the US, a longtime Nato ally, but also Erdogan’s economic policies and the country’s high debt accumulated in foreign currencies.

Independent economists said Erdogan should let the central bank raise interest rates to support the currency, but he wants low rates to keep the economic growth going. The finance chief is to address hundreds of foreign investors tomorrow in a teleconference.

Meanwhile, the lawyer representing Pastor Andrew Brunson has renewed an appeal for his release from house arrest.