Fatih Erbakan on the NATO summit: 'Turkey sat at the table as the host, but left as a waiter'

New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah Partisi) Chairman Fatih Erbakan held a press conference at the TBMM regarding the 36th NATO Summit hosted by Turkey in Ankara and other hot topics on the agenda. Arguing that the summit was portrayed to the public as a "diplomatic victory" but that no concrete gains were achieved for Turkey behind the scenes, Erbakan harshly criticized the budget spent and the attitudes of the leaders.

Erbakan targeted the government's policies on many issues, from foreign policy to domestic politics.

"IT WAS NOT POLITICS, BUT TABLOID NEWS THAT WAS DISCUSSED AT THE SUMMIT"

Criticizing the content of the 36th NATO Summit held in Ankara on July 7-8, Fatih Erbakan stated that the critical problems Turkey needs to solve could not be brought to the table:

"The summit was presented to the public as a diplomatic success, but no concrete gains were achieved for Turkey. Tabloid news was discussed, but politics was not. The sanctions imposed on Turkey, the embargoes in the defense industry, and the problems were not even properly brought to the agenda."

Erbakan criticized the fact that the splendor of the organization and the meals served to the leaders were highlighted rather than political decisions throughout the summit.

"THERE ARE NO RESOURCES FOR THE NATION, BUT BILLIONS TO DAZZLE THE LEADERS"

Drawing attention to the scale of the expenditures made for the summit, the New Welfare Party leader reacted by reminding the citizens under economic hardship:

"Billions of liras were spent on this organization just to dazzle the NATO leaders. When it comes to our own nation, our own people, they say 'no resources can be found,' but the state treasury is opened wide for foreign leaders."

REACTION TO TRUMP'S ATTITUDE: "A CONDESCENDING 'WE'LL SEE' WAS SAID"

Erbakan summarized the contacts made with US President Donald Trump and the general diplomatic balance sheet of the summit with a striking analogy:

"The only thing Trump said with all his arrogance and condescension was the sentence, 'I haven't made my final decision, but I'm thinking positively.' The meaning of this is a dismissive 'we'll see' expression. There is neither a promise nor a guarantee. He said, in an extremely arrogant manner, 'we'll see when the time comes' depending on the situation."

Stating that this picture is unacceptable, Erbakan said, "Turkey sat at the table at the NATO Summit as the host, but unfortunately left as a waiter."

JULY 15 ASSESSMENT: "THE GOVERNMENT HAS SERIOUS NEGLIGENCE"

Touching upon the July 15 coup attempt in his speech, Fatih Erbakan argued that the process could have been prevented. Stating that the wrong political choices spanning many years lie behind FETÖ's such extensive staffing within state institutions, Erbakan added that the government had very serious negligence in this process.

News Source: 12punto