The reception at the Presidential Complex was closed to the press.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler and Chief Foreign Policy and Security Advisor to the President Akif Çağatay Kılıç were also present at the reception.

AGENDA IN THE CRITICAL 1-HOUR MEETING USA/ISRAEL-IRAN WAR

The following statements were used in the statement made by the Directorate of Communications regarding the 1-hour meeting between President Erdoğan and Rutte:

Our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, received NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Presidential Complex. During the reception, preparations for the NATO Leaders Summit to be held in Ankara, topics on the Alliance’s agenda, regional and global issues were discussed.

President Erdoğan stated that the unstable environment in our region once again shows the importance of cooperation and solidarity among NATO Allies, and that they expect decisions to be taken at the Ankara Summit that will reinforce the solidarity between the Allies and support the Alliance’s always preparedness against crises.

Our President stated that Türkiye is increasing its capacity in the field of defense industry, especially air defense systems, day by day, and aims to further develop cooperation in this field with allied countries.

Our President said that preserving the Trans-Atlantic bond is of indispensable importance, that we, as Turkey, expect the European leg of the Alliance to assume more responsibilities, and that at this point, excluding European allies who are not members of the European Union from the defense initiatives of the Union will not serve the purpose. President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye positioned itself on the side of peace and diplomacy in the process that started with the attacks against Iran. During the meeting, our President stated that, as Türkiye, we are active in ensuring that the Ukrainian-Russian War ends in peace, and that we are making efforts to revitalize the negotiations and start negotiations at the leadership level.

During the meeting, President Erdoğan and Secretary General Rutte comprehensively evaluated the preparations for the NATO Ankara Summit.

Tunceli Governor Şefik Aygöl, Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor Ebru Cansu, Gendarmerie Public Order Chief Major General Murat Bulut, Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Brigadier General Bülent Baykal and Provincial Police Chief Kazım Günay Demiralay also attended the meeting. At the meeting, all aspects of the judicial and administrative processes carried out within the scope of the “Gülistan Doku” investigation were discussed. Authorities emphasized that they acted with the understanding that no person or authority is above the law, and stated that all allegations made were evaluated meticulously. It was stated that the processes were carried out simultaneously and effectively in judicial and administrative terms.

In the statement, which drew attention to society’s expectation of justice, it was noted that carrying out the process in a transparent, impartial and sensitive manner is a priority. It was also stated that the aim is to conclude the investigation with an approach that takes into account public conscience. It was stated that all necessary steps will continue to be taken under the coordination of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, without compromising the law and public order.

Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan made statements and answered questions in the live broadcast he attended. Stating that, as the Ministry, “protecting and increasing employment” are their focus, Işıkhan said that the Youth Production Age (POWER) Project implemented by İŞKUR is important in this context.

Pointing out that the youth unemployment rate is above the general unemployment rate, Işıkhan said, “We have only focused on our youth here. Because young people are our future. We are a target group that creates our future. We need to connect young people with jobs before they fall into the trap of Neither Employment nor Education (NEET). In this context, we are running programs to help our young people become skilled through İŞKUR.” he said.

“WE RECEIVED 333 THOUSAND APPLICATIONS”

Işıkhan pointed out that high school and university students have difficulty finding institutions or businesses to do internships and said: “The internship program was previously carried out by the Presidential Human Resources Office. This started to be carried out with İŞKUR’s National Internship Program. While approximately 120 thousand young people were previously given employment internship opportunities, as İŞKUR, we have received 333 thousand applications so far. This year, we are trying to push our capacity and include 200 thousand students in the internship program.

“A VERY GREAT DISRESPECT, A VERY UNQUALIFIED APPROACH”

Referring to CHP Chairman Özgür Özel’s words towards President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Çelik said, “CHP Chairman Özgür Özel’s mentioning our President’s name side by side with a murderer like Netanyahu in the same sentence is both a great disrespect and a very politically unqualified approach.” made his assessment. Çelik stated that Özel’s words were a motto on how not to do politics. Stating that Özel frequently referred to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, but that Sanchez’s attitude on Palestine was very clear from the beginning, Çelik said, “Sanchez is one of the extremely valuable voices of the alliance of humanity, of which our President is the strongest voice. However, Özgür Özel called ‘Hamas a terrorist organization’ at the beginning of the events. He calls Palestinian children ‘Israeli children’. We do not see an approach that corrects this in any way. What did he say upon the subsequent reactions? ‘I call Hamas a terrorist organization.’ I didn’t say, I said he was committing terrorism.’ he said. Özgür Özel is one of the politicians who has made the most wasteful and unqualified statements since these events started, he has become a brand in this way and unfortunately he has brought himself to this situation.” he said. Calling on those speaking on behalf of the CHP to say these words questioning President Erdoğan’s sensitivity to Palestine in Palestine, Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, Çelik noted that it would then be possible to see how the Palestinians would respond to the CHP members.

“I WOULD NOT WANT ÖZGÜR ÖZEL TO FALL INTO THIS SITUATION”

Çelik pointed out that the Netanyahu mentality finds support in two ways and continued his words as follows: “There are some leaders and politicians who directly support Netanyahu, and they call themselves zionists, even if they are from a different religion. There are many leaders, politicians, etc. who say ‘I am a Zionist’. They give direct support. There is also indirect support given to the Netanyahu mentality. That is, they try to wear down those who take a clear stance against Israel’s genocidal network, such as our President and Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez.” There are those who are trying to question their stance on this issue on a wrong basis, trying to cast a shadow. But for a long time, Özgür Özel’s biggest effort has been spent on questioning our President’s sensitivity to Palestine, rather than opposing Israel and the Netanyahu mentality. We do not see the software and attitude here. We do not see what outcome this is trying to achieve. What if Özgür Özel said these words in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem? He knows this very well. The adjective that describes someone who questions our President in this way is ‘Netanyahu’s supporter’. Therefore, this partisanship sometimes appears in the form of direct support, and sometimes in the form of indirect support. In other words, the person who tries to express Türkiye’s President with these words turns those words into a label for himself, and it is a truly sad situation for him, for the situation his politics has fallen into, and for this tragedy. Çelik emphasized that our President should be careful about his words. “The natural consequence of questioning Palestinian sensitivity, whoever questions this, whoever attacks our President’s Palestinian sensitivity, is where he positions himself, being pro-Netanyahu, this is clear and obvious,” he said.

29 suspects, who were detained in the second wave operation carried out yesterday within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against the Uşak Municipality for the crimes of “Bribery, Corruption, Extortion and Tender Rigging”, were sent to the courthouse in the morning after the legal procedures at the Istanbul Police Department.

19 SUSPECTS WERE REFERRED FOR ARREST

The statements of the suspects, including some employees of Uşak Municipality and some business people, have been completed. 19 suspects were referred to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace on Duty with a request for arrest. 9 suspects, including Uşak Mayor Özkan Yalım, who was detained in the first operation, were arrested, Özkan Yalım was suspended from his duty and his assets were confiscated.

16 SUSPECTS WERE ARRESTED

The interrogation of the suspects who were referred for arrest has been completed. The Criminal Judgeship of Peace on Duty decided to arrest 16 suspects. Three suspects were released on condition of judicial control. The other 10 suspects were released on condition of judicial control after their statements at the prosecutor’s office.

ARRESTED NAMES

Uşakspor President Özhan Özgöbek, CHP Uşak Provincial Chairman Celalettin Çoban, Ahmet Arslan Ahmet Yıldız, Ali Arı, Fahreddin Altundal, Ferhat Cucu, Mehmet Arslan, Mustafa Arslan, Rahmi Altundal, Sefa Taşcı Akın Cantürk, Celalettin Çoban, Cemal Ak, Ceren Yeşildağ, Özhan Özgöbek, Ulaş Küçükakın and Umut Demir.

In the statement made on DMM’s virtual media account, “The allegations made by some news agencies that ‘the house of a citizen living in Maden district of Elazığ was intended to be demolished without notification to him’ are completely unfounded. It is planned to produce 255 houses in the ‘Reserve Building Area’ determined by the Urban Transformation Directorate of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change in Maden district, in order for our citizens to have safe houses. In the examinations, it was determined that the citizen who made the allegations does not have any rights in the said area.” It has been determined that the relevant building is registered in the name of other citizens and that the citizen mentioned in the news resides in this building without any legal basis (as an occupier). However, in order to prevent the citizen in question from being victimized, he was provided with a shelter. “The statements made by the authorities are kindly requested to be taken into consideration.”