Ministry issues 'Mehmet Şimşek' denial: 'No such meeting took place'

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance issued a denial via social media.

The statement read: "The report published in Gazete Pencere under the byline of Nuray Babacan, titled 'The reason for the tension is the meeting at Beştepe,' is completely untrue and a product of the journalist's own imagination. No such meeting as claimed in the report has taken place."

'FABRICATED DESK-WORK REPORTS'

The Ministry's statement further noted:

"It is observed that an effort to fabricate rumors and false stories has begun with the aim of sabotaging the program currently being implemented by our economic management.

Therefore, it is important that the public does not give credence to such fabricated desk-work reports, which are put forward under the guise of 'insider information' without citing any sources.

We will also exercise our legal rights regarding such speculative news content."

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

Researcher Erol Mütercimler had claimed that Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek resigned two weeks ago and that Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz had persuaded him to reverse this decision.

While the Center for Combating Disinformation (DMM), affiliated with the Presidential Communications Directorate, stated that these claims, which dominated the agenda, were untrue, Gazete Pencere writer Nuray Babacan brought the behind-the-scenes details of the 'crisis' to her column.

Babacan wrote that the Mehmet Şimşek 'crisis' stemmed from a 'tense meeting' held at the Palace, alleging that the economic advisors at the Presidency, whom Mehmet Şimşek 'does not particularly enjoy working with,' also attended the meeting and criticized the policies being implemented.

Sharing the detail that "It is claimed that instead of responding to the criticisms, Şimşek left the meeting saying, 'I have said what I had to say, you discuss it among yourselves,'" Babacan stated, "It is also being discussed within the AKP that this tense meeting may have been reflected in the corridors as Şimşek preparing to resign."

It was alleged that the economic advisors at the Presidency, whom Şimşek does not particularly enjoy working with, also attended this meeting and criticized the policies being implemented. It is claimed that instead of responding to the criticisms, Şimşek left the meeting saying, "I have said what I had to say, you discuss it among yourselves." It is also being discussed within the AKP that this tense meeting may have been reflected in the corridors as Şimşek preparing to resign.