Credit rating agency Moody's upgraded Turkey's bond ratings from Ba1 to Baa3, after Ankara made great strides to peace following the withdrawal of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants, Turkish Daily News reported Friday.

Moody's statement which then rated Turkey Ba1 with a positive outlook, said that the Turkish government's agreement to form a parliamentary investigative commission to evaluate the peace process with the PKK is a "visible and credit-positive step" in its progress toward peace.

"The conflict in the country's southeast has been a longstanding source of political uncertainty constraining Turkey's creditworthiness," Moody's said in its CreditOutlook publication.

Last month, Moody's said a settlement process between Turkey and the terrorist PKK is a positive development for the country's credit rating.

Since last October, Ankara had been holding peace negotiations with PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, who finally made an announcement of ceasefire and withdrawal in March. Earlier in May, the PKK fighters once stationed in Turkey started to head to their stronghold in Iraq.

Analysts said that with the upgrading, Turkey is easier to draw more capital from the international financial sector, which in turn could trigger an appreciation of lira. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)