A new round of discussions about the stability of the Turkish leadership has been opened by the statement from the Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, who publicly referred to the American engines that will be used in the Turkish KAAN fighter jet programme. This acknowledgement was considered a blow to the government’s narrative of a “domestic and national” aircraft, triggering a chain reaction.
The matter escalated when the Associated Press accidentally recorded a private conversation between Turkish correspondents outside the White House. NTV journalist Hüseyin Günay was speaking to a colleague, suggesting that Fidan “deliberately dropped” the issue, as an internal power struggle is raging over the succession of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The leak of the video, which was made public by a pro-government outlet, caused significant embarrassment in Ankara.
According to the Controversial Video and Dialogue:
Journalist: How did the talks go?
Hüseyin Günay, NTV correspondent in Washington: Great… but we got nothing. We got bugger all. We got nothing.
Journalist: No, they say we got something.
Hüseyin Günay: “Yes, we got something, but we got the shaft. They talked about CAATSA, the F-35s, but they imposed conditions. Like if the Palestinians are expelled from their lands, Turkey should take them. Also, he told him to stop buying natural gas from Russia and stop trading with China and to transfer money to Palestine. We can’t do any of that.”
Journalist: Well, with those [conditions] Erdoğan will die (politically)!
Hüseyin Günay: But they’re talking about the post-Erdoğan era right now.
Journalist: Is your camera on?
Hüseyin Günay: No… it turns on… only if I press here… Back in Ankara, they’re already putting a lot of pressure on Hakan Fidan. Now with his statement, the information about the aircraft engines slipped out… no one knew about it. The man suddenly dropped a bomb. He did it on purpose. He’s playing games with Albayrak. I mean, he’s playing games with the son-in-law. There’s a big fight going on in there between Fidan, the son-in-law, and Bilal (Erdoğan’s son). Those three groups are fighting to the death.
According to the dialogue, pressure on Fidan has intensified, and his move was considered a “political bomb.” The background suggests that three powerful blocs are clashing around the Turkish presidency: Fidan himself, Erdoğan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak, and the President’s son, Bilal Erdoğan.
Reactions in the Turkish Press
Özay Şendir, Director of Milliyet, argued that the use of foreign engines in prototypes is international practice; however, the video about the “succession battle” triggered a new wave of speculation. The head of the Defence Industry, Haluk Gürgün, assured that “the future of KAAN does not depend on one country,” while Cumhuriyet described Fidan’s statements as “a truth that was perceived as a blunder.”
Analyst Cem Küçük of TGRT reported that Erdoğan himself had been misinformed, believing that the first 45 fighter jets would have “domestic engines.” According to him, Turkey has already ordered 90 American F110 engines, the same ones used in the F-16s.
Succession Scenarios
Commenting on the latest developments, the international relations expert and New Democracy MP, Angelos Syrigos, stated on SKAI TV on Wednesday morning that Hakan Fidan’s remark was not accidental and is connected to the scenarios circulating in Turkey about Erdoğan’s imminent departure from power.
It was said that Erdoğan himself, always according to the scenarios circulating, would initiate the procedures for his departure. As Mr. Syrigos said, one of the main contenders, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, spoke about the KAAN, hinting at problems with the production of the Turkish fighter jet’s national engines. “Fidan doesn’t speak by chance, and that was also why we saw reports in previous months about the authenticity of his degrees. In Turkey, if you don’t have a degree, you can’t run for the presidency, and reports emerged claiming his degree was fake,” he said, among other things.
(Information from protothema.gr)
