Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu issued a statement regarding the US visit of AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In a post shared on the Presidential Candidate Office’s X account, İmamoğlu argued that before Erdoğan went to the US, he made “another gesture at the request of the US” by taking certain actions.
In his statement, İmamoğlu noted that the Iranian bank that had been operating in Turkey for 44 years was closed, and recalled that last year, while Erdoğan was in the US, additional taxes that had been applied to certain US-origin products since 2018 were lifted.
Stating that the F-35 jets, which Turkey had requested after paying more than $1 billion, have still not been delivered, İmamoğlu pointed out that, in contrast, Turkey has pledged to purchase 225 aircraft from the US company Boeing.
The winner is always the US! While we have been waiting for a year for our jets to be delivered, your friend, to whom you keep making gesture after gesture, has sold the F-35s to Saudi Arabia.
In his message, İmamoğlu drew attention to the principle of “reciprocity” in international relations and addressed Erdoğan with the words, “It is not Mr. Trump you should serve, but your 86 million citizens.” he said.
At the end of his statement, İmamoğlu added, “Our expectation and priority is the security of Turkey.”
News Source: 12punto
