Erdogan explains why he fires Turkey's central bank chief

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that he fired Turkey's central bank chief over his refusal to cut interest rates.

Addressing a trade-union meeting in Ankara, Erdogan again declared interest rates to be "the mother of all evil" and suggested borrowing costs would be lowered soon.

Murat Cetinkaya was replaced by Murat Uysal, the central bank's deputy governor, in a presidential decree published July 7. It was the first time Erdogan said publicly that Cetinkaya was dismissed over interest rate disagreements.

"We believed that it was necessary to change our friend who did not follow orders concerning monetary policy, regarding the mother of all evil," AFP cited the Turkish leader as saying.