Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech at the congress of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara, Turkey, on Aug. 18, 2018. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday his country would challenge those playing "games" on the economy, a day after two rating agencies downgraded Turkey's rating amid a currency turmoil. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)

ANKARA, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday his country would challenge those playing "games" on the economy, a day after two rating agencies downgraded Turkey's rating amid a currency turmoil.

"Some people are trying to threaten us through our economy, through interest rates, inflation, investment and foreign exchange," Erdogan said during a speech in Ankara at the congress of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

"Now we are telling them that we have seen your games, and we are challenging you," he added.

The Turkish lira has plunged to record lows in recent weeks over an unprecedented spat with NATO ally the United States over the detention of an American clergyman, Andrew Brunson, charged with espionage and terrorism.

The case of Brunson who has been living in Turkey for more than two decades has become the focal point of a trade conflict between Washington and Ankara, hurting bad the Turkish currency and subsequently the country's economy.

"We did not and will not surrender to those who act like a strategic partner but make us a strategic target," Erdogan also said, in an apparent reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's administration which imposed sanctions on Turkish metal products and two governments ministers.

Ankara has retaliated by steeply hiking tariffs on some U.S. products.

Late Friday, both Moody's and Standard & Poor's rating agencies lowered Turkey's sovereign credit rating deeper into "junk" territory, citing "extreme volatility" and forecasting a recession next year.