Erdogan Sweet Talks Markets With Return to Orthodoxy -- for Now

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s pledge to stay committed to free markets after replacing the country’s top economic officials signals a major policy shift after two years of currency turmoil though it remains to be seen whether the Turkish leader has fully relinquished his long-held preference for lower interest rates at any cost.

In his first speech on the economy since replacing his son-in-law as the nation’s treasury and finance minister and firing the central bank chief, Erdogan said the government was not giving up its dedication to free-market rules or to economic growth led by the private sector, which he’s sought in the past to stimulate with lower borrowing costs.