Ankara - Turkey's leaders yesterday strove to contain fallout from their disagreement over anti-corruption measures after the stock market fell more than 18 per cent, the second drop in three days. The dispute between the Prime Minister, Mr Bulent Ecevit, and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer threatened to upset an IMF-backed reform programme inaugurated last year with a $4 billion loan.
In an effort to calm the markets, Mr Ecevit promised to continue to work with President Sezer, despite his outburst at the President for his criticism of the government's anticorruption drive. In response, Mr Sezer asserted his confidence in the government's economic reforms.