Süleyman Soylu's 'thank you letter' to Ahmet Özer emerges: He issues an 'apology' statement

It has emerged that AKP Istanbul Deputy Süleyman Soylu, during his time as AKP Deputy Chairman and Head of R&D, sent a thank-you letter to Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer, who was later replaced by a government-appointed trustee.

During his tenure as Head of R&D, Soylu sent a thank-you letter to Özer for his speech at the workshop titled "Perspectives on Ethnic Identity and Public Services: Perceptions-Attitudes."

"THE POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION OF YOUR VALUABLE VIEWS AND SUGGESTIONS..."

According to the report in T24, Soylu thanked Özer in the letter for his participation in the workshop, stating, "I would like to express with all sincerity the positive contribution of the valuable views and suggestions you expressed at the workshop. I convey with all my sincerity that we are ready for your valuable views and contributions in the future on behalf of our AK Party and our R&D Department, and I offer my most sincere greetings and respects."

Soylu joined the Justice and Development Party in 2012 and served as Head of R&D for 1.5 years.

"WE APOLOGIZE" POST FOLLOWS

Responding to the news about the thank-you letter on his social media account, Soylu said that during his time as Head of R&D, they "invited academics, journalists, NGOs, and intellectuals from every viewpoint and published reports." He wrote, "We forgot to get a written commitment that you would abide by the laws and the rule of law. We apologize!.."

The full text of Soylu's post is as follows:

"12 years ago, when I was the AK Party R&D Chairman, we would hold dozens of workshops, invite academics, journalists, NGOs, and intellectuals from every viewpoint, and then publish reports. We forgot to get a written commitment that you would abide by the laws and the rule of law. We apologize!.."