Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised Donald Trump Jr. that Turkey will purchase 300 Boeing aircraft in exchange for the securing of a White House meeting with his father, Turkish main opposition party leader Ozgur Ozel claimed on September 19.

Two days earlier, on September 17, Ozel publicised information about how Turkey’s president on September 13 secretly hosted Donald Trump Jr. at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul. Briefings given by the presidency to some media outlets in the wake of Ozel’s portrayal of events indicate that such a meeting did indeed take place.

Erdogan confirms White House date at airport press call

On September 21, speaking to the press at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul before he departed for New York where the UN General Assembly will convene this week, Erdogan confirmed the meeting with the American president, scheduled for September 25.

However, he denied Ozel’s claims about the aircraft purchase being a bargaining chip. As to why his officials at Dolmabahce palace apparently registered Trump Jr. as an anonymous businessman, and did not record his name in the guest book, he did not comment.

‘Israelis setting Palestine on fire and Trump’s letting them do it’

Prior to Erdogan’s confirmation of the upcoming White House meeting, Ozel made further remarks during a September 19 rally, saying: “I recently declared that, even at a time while there are so many problems in Palestine, Tayyip Erdogan met with Trump's son, Junior Trump, on Saturday, September 13th.”

Photo: Burak Soylu (right), a local businessman, shared this photo of himself and Donald Trump Jr. (left), taken during Trump Jr.’s Istanbul trip. Soylu posted it on his Linkedin account, but later deleted it.

“Today, journalists confirmed this from the US. American sources confirmed that Erdogan met with the son at 5:30 pm last Saturday [September 13]. Turkey couldn't deny it either,” he added.

“But they wrote down the meeting as a meeting with a businessman on the programme, omitting the name of Trump [Jr]. Why is he [Erdogan] doing this? While Israel is setting Palestine on fire, it is he [President Trump] who is the one who is letting Israel do it,” Ozel also said.

‘Go and come back in a week’

“He [Erdogan] went to Istanbul with Trump's son and had a secret meeting. And during that meeting, he had an appointment made with Trump for during his trip to the US. He wanted it [this way],” Ozel continued.

“Trump’s son said, ‘Not during those days [of the UN General Assembly], let it be on the [September] 30th. Go [back to Turkey after the UN event] and come back in a week’,” Ozel further claimed, adding: “Look, just as [Erdogan’s people] couldn’t deny the meeting, they can’t deny this either. He says to Trump’s son, ‘If you make an appointment for me with Trump [for this week], I promise you 300 Boeing planes will be bought from America, live on television before the eyes of the whole world.’”

Coup permitted by Trump

Ozel also repeated an earlier allegation he has made that Erdogan carried out the “March 19th coup” with Trump’s permission.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) refers to the judicial processes being used to target its mayors as part of a coup launched on March 19 with the detention of Istanbul mayor and main political rival to Erdogan, Ekrem Imamoglu, following an early morning police raid on his home.

Ozel invited Erdogan to clarify the details of the Trump Jr. meeting as soon as possible.

Ozel rides again

On the afternoon of September 21, it was a case of Ozel rides again. The opposition leader attended an extraordinary congress called by his party for Ankara. He repeated the claims made as regards Erdogan and Trump.

He told his audience: “This is a coup authorised by the Trump administration. What were they saying? ‘Imamoglu is a man [that is the concern] of a foreign power.’ I ask, whose side is Trump on today? Who does Trump want to see [in the White House]? Who is secretly working with Trump's son?”

Tayyip Erdogan is Trump's man

“I hereby declare to our nation that the members of the Republican People's Party are [represented by] the man of the nation, the son of the nation, the children of the nation. Tayyip Erdogan is Trump's man, Trump's team,” Ozel also said.

Netanyahu the war hero

“Unfortunately,” the main backer of the massacres in Palestine today is the Trump administration, according to Ozel. It is Trump, he said, who calls Israeli PM Benyamin Nethanyahu a war hero.

“It is Trump who mocks our minds by saying 'I will evacuate Gaza and build hotels and casinos there.' Everyone knows that his intention is [obtaining] the rich hydrocarbon fields... And, Turkey isn’t given any interest in this plan. In fact, it poses significant risks for Cyprus,” Ozel also said.

“Israel, with [Trump’s] power behind it, has launched new attacks on Gaza. Erdogan, who has got himself called a 'global leader', hasn't said a single word against Trump, and he continues in this way,” Ozel told the party gathering.

Lobbying firms ‘paid’ in arranging of Trump Jr. meeting

Returning to how the Erdogan-Trump Jr. meeting came about, Ozel said: “There's more. They sent messages to America through to Trump's son and paid lobbying firms that arranged the meeting [with him]. ‘Tell your father, if he gives us an appointment, we will buy 300 Boeings and discuss purchasing the F-16s.’”

Boeing shares put in play

“Erdogan's lobbying companies made promises to Boeing,” added Ozel, noting that Boeing's share price was then put in play when soon after Bloomberg reported: ‘Boeing may receive over 250 orders next week’,” Ozel added.

Seeking refuge in Trump

“[Erdogan] has no sensitivity to Palestine and he has to walk in Trump’s wake to maintain his power. We are aware of this. His vote [among the Turks] is falling. And rather than seeking refuge in the nation, he is seeking refuge in Trump. He is engaging in Trump-centred politics, not nation-centred politics,” Ozel concluded.