01.07.2026 17:21
AK Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik strongly reacted to an article written by Özgür Özel for the British Financial Times regarding the NATO summit in Ankara. Çelik said, "Claiming that our President is not as popular as before is not something to be taken seriously in any respect. Özgür Özel defining our President, elected by the will of our nation, as a threat to our NATO allies is a disgrace he has written into his own record."
Özgür Özel wrote an article for the UK-based Financial Times newspaper. In the article, Özel claimed that President Erdoğan will use the 36th NATO Leaders' Summit, to be held in Ankara next week, "to show off his power."
ÖZGÜR ÖZEL: A DANGER FOR OUR NATO ALLIES
In the article, Özel stated: "But this image conceals a deeper fragility: the increasing suppression of democracy in Turkey. While the government tries to hide the country's realities from the world, it has detained peaceful protesters as well as lawyers, journalists, and academics. This is bad for Turkey and also poses a danger to our NATO allies, especially in Europe."
"A regime that prevents citizens from believing that change is possible through elections generates hopelessness and anger," Özel said, describing this as "a more immediate danger" and warning of social and political turmoil. Özel added, "When combined with economic mismanagement and deepening poverty, this increases the risk of social and political unrest. Such an explosion would not remain within Turkey's borders. It would affect Europe's security, critical energy lines, the Middle East, and NATO's southern flank."
REACTION FROM AK PARTY SPOKESPERSON ÇELİK
AK Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik reacted strongly to Özgür Özel's article. In a statement on his social media account, Çelik said: "CHP deputy Özgür Özel, by writing an article in a foreign newspaper, questioned ‘the change of government through elections in Turkey.’"
"ÖZGÜR ÖZEL TURNED TO SEEKING EXTERNAL TUTELAGE"
Labeling the will represented by our President, who has come to power through multiple elections, as a 'regime' is a CHP tradition. What CHP has most resorted to in our political history is creating space for itself by fabricating a 'regime crisis.' When this method became unusable in domestic politics, Özgür Özel and his team turned to seeking 'external tutelage.' Although they find no support from anyone, they try to turn every political agenda in Turkey into a ground for their own tutelage pursuits.
"THE WORLD IS TALKING ABOUT TURKEY'S STRONG ROLE IN NATO"
Because Turkey has a healthy electoral system, the Özgür Özel mentality cannot come to power. The common sense of our nation sees that the political dynamics of this mentality are not national. On the other hand, Özgür Özel also questioned Turkey's role within NATO. Such a disconnected approach from the world is rarely seen. The entire world is talking about Turkey's strong role within NATO and its increasing weight for regional and global security. Meanwhile, the opposition in Turkey continues to move in the opposite direction.
Özgür Özel's claim that our President is no longer as popular is not something to be taken seriously from any perspective. No one takes such words seriously about our President, who is one of the world's most recognized leaders. Our President is a leader whose every word the whole world pays attention to.
"THE ONLY PLACE WITH TURMOIL IS THE CHP"
Özgür Özel's mention of 'social and political turmoil' is merely a delusion. Our nation continues its historical march in brotherhood, unity, and peace. The only place with 'turmoil' is the CHP, due to its internal power struggles.
Özgür Özel's description of our President, elected by the will of our nation, as a threat to our NATO allies is a disgrace he has written into his own record. Such a distorted mentality has never been seen in our political history. The person uttering these words cannot go beyond being 'personnel of the tutelary mentality.'"