Ankara denies IMF visit on official request, say it may happen "for technical reasons"

Turkey's Ministry of Treasury and Finance on Sunday denied rumors that IMF officials are likely to visit Turkey on an invitation by the ministry, while it said a IMF team "might pay a routine visit for some technical reasons."

Turkish journalist Erdal Saglam claimed earlier today in an article that a IMF delegation may be set to visit Turkey upon an invitation by Turkish authorities who seek the financial agency's confirmation of approval for the government's new economic policies.

Officials of the Treasury and Finance Ministry told state news agency AA that such claims were not true.

The officials added however that although a IMF delegation would not visit Turkey on an official invitation by government officials seeking the former's statement of support, "a IMF delegation may still pay a visit, as some of the members of the technical team tasked with reviewing the developments in Turkey were recently replaced by new ones and the new members might want to know Turkey better, to meet with their counterparts and to be further informed about the recent economic policies of Turkey."

So it is quite possible that the team may routinely visit Turkey for technical reasons, ministry officials added.