Istanbul - Anadolu
International credit rating agency Standard & Poor\'s (S&P) on Wednesday upgraded Turkey\'s long term credit rating to BB+ from BB. In a statement released, S&P underlined that Turkey was in the process of rebalancing its economy. S&P emphasized that the resolution of the Kurdish issue would have a positive effect on Turkey\'s ratings. The progress made on the Kurdish issue will lead to a decline in security related spendings and would increase border trade in Turkey,S&P noted as a reason for the upgrade. In response to the upgrade, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek stressed that \"it was encouraging. However, Turkey deserves a higher rating\". Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said he was expecting the upgrading for a long time. I do not consider S&P\'s upgrading as sufficient, Caglayan underlined.