An advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has gone on an ultra-nationalistic and irrationality fueled rant on Turkish national television, as we have become accustomed to from the regime.
Mesut Hakkı Caşın, Erdoğan's advisor on Security and Foreign policy, said on Turkish television that "Europe experienced a huge collapse in the post-pandemic era," completely omitting that it is the Turkish lira that has collapsed, and that unemployment is skyrocketing and inflation is out of control.
"Unlike Israel, France does not know how to sell goods. Greece will buy 18 warplanes, we will buy 200 planes," he said, posing the question on who would fly these 200 new planes since Turkey has a chronic shortage of air force pilots.
"One should first look who has the money in the pocket. Greece is suffering terribly from hunger. I am now in Dalaman [Turkish seaside town]. God-willing, there are planes everywhere. There are tourists everywhere. Nobody travels to Greece, no tourism. Turks do not go there either for a fish and raki. Greece is dying of hunger," he said.
In fact, data about hunger in Turkey shows that 2.5 percent of the population is undernourished and hunger in Turkey increased marginally last year, alongside a 3.5 percent increase in poverty. This data however was compiled before the coronavirus pandemic devastated the Turkish economy that has left at least 24% of the population unemployed.
"I feel sorry for Greeks. The soldiers on the island of Kastellorizo will die of starvation if no provisions arrive. Because food for Kastellorizo comes from Turkey. Greece is well aware. I'm watching Greek media and it says Turkey strengthens its navy. Yes, Turkey is going to build aircraft carrier ships and is making a helicopter ship. Also yesterday, Mr. President gave happy news that Turkey enters into space," he continued.
"So, after the land, air and naval forces, there will be the Space Force for Turkey. With its trained manpower, Turkey would enter the top 10 economies in the world in the next 15 years," Caşın said.
In fact, Erdoğan had the ambition of being a top 10 economy by 2023, but this is obviously not achievable due to an excessive war budget and endemic nepotism and corruption. Since this ambition was announced, Turkey actually went down in the top 20 economic rankings.
"Turkey gets threatened with denial of access to ports. Turkey would still make its exports to Europe through Italy or Albania," he concluded.
👉#Greece is starving, tourism dead
👉Greeks are tiny, dwarfs while Turks are giant.
👉Greek troops on islands will die of hunger #Turkey's President #Erdogan jailed 179 journalists and shut down 180 media outlets so that his crazy aide can dump such garbage on a national TV. pic.twitter.com/8uZLh4xmkk— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) September 1, 2020
