Burhanettin Duran, head of the Turkish Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, said the main opposition leader succumbed to disinformation as the latter claimed authorities waited for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s orders for two hours to shoot down a drone from Russia.
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chair Özgür Özel claimed in an interview on Sunday that the Turkish army detected an incoming drone in Turkish airspace, but it was not monitored for more than two hours because the president did not order it. The directorate’s Center for Combating Disinformation had earlier refuted the claims, stating in a statement that the Turkish army did not have to wait for Erdoğan’s orders and intervened in time to the drone on Dec. 15 under the existing directive for the rules of engagement. The center noted that the Air Forces Command was already responsible for intervention without awaiting orders from their superiors.
Duran said in a social media post on Sunday that Özel should not heed speculation and disinformation and focus on statements from official channels.
Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party), lambasted the CHP leader over his remarks and said the opposition party turned into a center for disinformation. “Özel always makes mistakes in every statement he makes regarding Türkiye’s domestic politics and foreign policy. He used disinformation to criticize our president. Nevertheless, nobody takes him seriously, and such remarks only add to his already worsening political record,” Çelik said in a social media post.
Turkish authorities say drones entering or approaching Turkish airspace are a result of the aggravated Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Ministry of National Defense said in a statement last Thursday that Turkish fighter jets shot down an unidentified drone approaching Turkish airspace over the Black Sea, and the wreckage of two other drones, reportedly belonging to Russia and Ukraine, were discovered in Balıkesir in western Türkiye and Kocaeli in the northwest in the past weeks.
The ministry said examination of the drones was underway and assured that Turkish airspace was well-protected thanks to radars, electro-optic sensors, elements of land, air and naval forces, with a “multi-layered security architecture.” It denied any weakness of Türkiye’s defenses against drone risks while warning that such drones, especially those flying at low altitudes, were also a threat to Europe. The ministry underlined that the incidents were not the result of deficiencies in air defenses but rather, “a reflection of increasing use of drones due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.”
