ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's president warns of drastic measures if businesses withdraw foreign currency from banks amid the country's ongoing currency crisis.

Speaking in the northeastern city of Trabzon Sunday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned businesspersons to not "rush to banks to withdraw foreign currency."

He added that businesses should "know that keeping this nation alive and standing isn't just our job, but also the job of industrialists, of merchants."

Turkey was hit by a financial shockwave this week as its currency nosedived over concerns about the government's economic policies and a trade dispute with the United States.

During Sunday's speech, Erdogan reiterated earlier claims that the crisis was "an operation against our economy conducted through exchange rates" and that Turkey would prevail.