Ümit Özdağ reveals the amount the AKP, which cannot find money for retirees, has spent on refugees

Özdağ answered questions in an exclusive interview with İpek Özbey on SÖZCÜ Television. 

Criticizing the words of AKP Chairman and President Erdoğan regarding retirees, Özdağ said, "This country has spent nearly 250 billion dollars on Syrians and various other countries."

Victory Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ stated the following:

"There are 4 million refugees and illegal migrants in Istanbul. Small groups in Turkey are making money, for instance, from the sale of citizenship to Syrians. Syrians used to stay in camps. Food was provided to these camps. Certain individuals were supplying this food.

They were generating income from this. Certain construction projects are being carried out for Syrians with European Union funds. Certain individuals are profiting from these construction projects. All of these are a small group within the ruling circle, but a very large portion of the Turkish public is suffering greatly from this.

Erdoğan says, 'We cannot give this money to retirees.' Until 2008, when you retired, if you retired in March, you received 100 TL in salary in February. When you retired in March, it dropped to 70 liras. From 2008 onwards, this dropped from 100 liras to 30 liras. There is no money for retirees, but 164 billion dollars has been spent on Syrians since 2012. Where do we find this figure? We find it in their own publications. 11 billion dollars per year.

"SÜLEYMAN SOYLU BOASTED ABOUT THIS HUMANITARIAN AID"

There is something called humanitarian aid. We are the second country in the world that provides the most humanitarian aid. After whom? After the USA. Hard to believe, isn't it? In 2012, 3 billion 15 million, in 2013, 4 billion 90 million, in 2014, 6 billion 403 million, in 2015, 5 billion 105 million. These are in dollars. In 2017, we provided 9 billion 324 million, in 2018, 9 billion 927 million, in 2019, 9 billion 371 million, in 2020, 8 billion 797 million, in 2021, 8 billion 397 million dollars, and in 2022, 7 billion 892 million dollars in aid. The money we spent between 2012 and 2022 under the name of humanitarian aid is 80 billion 268 million dollars. Add that to the 164, and this country has spent nearly 250 billion dollars on Syrians and various other countries. 

When Süleyman Soylu was minister, he boasted about this humanitarian aid. He said, 'We are the country that provides the most aid in the world according to Gross National Product.'"

News Source: 12punto