Erdoğan responds to Özel: 'The deaf don't hear, they make things up'

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has responded days later to CHP Chairman Özgür Özel's claim that he "negotiated with Trump about Gaza."

“WHAT NEGOTIATION DID WE CONDUCT, WAS HE THERE WITH US?”

In his assessment of the matter, Erdoğan used the following expressions:

“What negotiation did we conduct? Was he there with us? You don't believe in these kinds of things, do you? Friends, I don't want to insult the deaf, but the deaf don't hear, they make things up; this man keeps making things up like this. Our party spokesperson gave the necessary response to this in the best way possible, and we will give the necessary response in a much broader sense at the first opportunity. We have not conducted aircraft purchases or anything of the sort by asking Özgür Özel to this day, and we will not do so. He doesn't understand these matters anyway. It's not his caliber. Therefore, if we are to conduct any transaction with Mr. Trump between Turkey and America, we don't need to do it with his son. We would do it with Trump himself.”

WHAT DID ÖZEL SAY?

CHP leader Özgür Özel had previously claimed in a statement that Erdoğan had negotiated on Gaza with US President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr. Claiming that an agreement was reached regarding F-16 and F-35 aircraft following this meeting, Özel stated that Erdoğan remained silent on Trump's plan to turn “Gaza into a holiday resort.”

ALLEGATION THAT HE WAS “HOSTED BY CONCEALING HIS NAME”

Özel had also used the following expressions:

“Not only did he not say a word to Trump, but just last Saturday, he hosted Trump's son, Jr. Trump, at his working office in Dolmabahçe, Istanbul, by concealing his name, and entered into negotiations with him. They didn't write his name and listed him as a businessman for the visit.”