Turkish journalist fired after saying “we got screwed” about the Trump–Erdogan meeting

The Turkish television web NTV has fired its Washington correspondent Hüseyin Günay, aft his off-the-record remarks astir the result of the Trump–Erdogan meeting astatine the White House went viral online.

Günay had covered the White House for galore years for the channel. The communicative took connected caller dimensions erstwhile an Associated Press camera accidentally recorded a backstage speech betwixt 2 Turkish NTV correspondents extracurricular the White House.

In the conversation, Günay speaks with a workfellow from Anadolu Agency, saying that Hakan Fidan “deliberately brought up the contented of the engines” due to the fact that of contention implicit the succession of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The leaked video, which was published by a pro-government outlet, caused daze successful Ankara. In the aforesaid conversation, seemingly unaware helium was being recorded, Günay was asked however the talks went, and helium replied with the enactment that went viral:

“We got screwed. We got nothing. Okay, we got something, but basically, we got screwed.”

When asked astir the F-35s, helium said: “It’s over. They talked. They talked astir CAATSA, they talked astir the F-35s, but they acceptable conditions. First, if the Palestinians are expelled from their lands, Turkey has to instrumentality them. Second, halt buying earthy state from Russia. Third, halt trading with China and transportation wealth to Palestine. We can’t bash immoderate of that…”

Günay past referred to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s connection that the engines required for the domestically produced KAAN combatant jet would beryllium imported from the U.S. pending Congressional approval, saying: “They’re betting connected Fidan… He accidentally leaked the accusation astir the craft engines, but cipher knew… There’s an interior powerfulness conflict betwixt Bilal (Erdoğan’s son), Hakan Fidan, and the son-in-law (Selçuk Bayraktar).”

The afloat conversation

Journalist: How did the talks go?
Hüseyin Günay (NTV analogous successful Washington): Good… but we got nothing. We got screwed. We got nothing.
Journalist: No, they’re saying we got something.
Hüseyin Günay: Yeah, we got something, but we got screwed. They talked astir CAATSA, the F-35s, but they acceptable conditions. Like: if the Palestinians are expelled, Turkey has to instrumentality them. Also, helium told him to halt buying state from Russia, halt trading with China, and transportation wealth to Palestine. We can’t bash immoderate of that.
Journalist: With each that, Erdoğan volition dice (politically)!
Hüseyin Günay: Well, close now, they’re talking astir the post-Erdoğan era.
Journalist: Is your camera on?
Hüseyin Günay: No… it lone turns connected if I property here… In Ankara they’re already putting unit connected Hakan Fidan. And with that connection of his, helium accidentally leaked the accusation astir the craft engines… cipher knew. The antheral abruptly dropped a bomb. He did it deliberately. He’s playing against Albayrak. Meaning, he’s playing against the son-in-law. There’s a large combat wrong betwixt Fidan, the son-in-law, and Bilal. These 3 groups are astatine each other’s throats.

Before his dismissal, Hüseyin Günay posted connected X:

“My unfortunate spot successful today’s quality is simply a antithetic story, but determination was immoderate bully quality I was anxious to stock with you all. It conscionable happened to coincide with today, wholly by chance. I privation to stock my happiness with you — I became a father. From present on, you tin telephone maine Hüso Baba.”

CAATSA: The U.S. instrumentality that sanctioned Turkey

The CAATSA instrumentality (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act), passed by the U.S. Congress successful 2017, was designed to bounds 3rd countries’ strategical ties with Russia, Iran, and North Korea. For Turkey, it marked a turning constituent successful relations with Washington aft Ankara purchased the Russian S-400 aerial defence system.

This led the U.S. to enforce sanctions successful 2020 connected Turkey’s Defense Industry Directorate (SSB) and its officials, portion besides excluding the state from the F-35 combatant pitchy program.

Washington viewed the exertion of CAATSA to Turkey arsenic a captious deterrence connection to allies cooperating militarily with Moscow. For Ankara, however, it became a lasting root of hostility with the U.S., continuing to impact bilateral relations today.

Reactions successful the Turkish press

Milliyet editor-in-chief Özay Şendir tried to downplay the incident, saying that “using overseas engines successful the archetypal prototypes of combatant jets is modular planetary practice.” However, the leaked off-camera speech with its succession hints fueled speculation astir rifts astatine the apical of Turkey’s powerfulness structure.

Pro-government Milliyet commented that “it would person been amended if Fidan had ne'er brought up the issue.” Meanwhile, Haluk Görgün, caput of the Defense Industry Directorate, rushed to guarantee that “the aboriginal of the KAAN does not beryllium connected a azygous country’s engines.”

Conversely, Barış Terkoğlu of Cumhuriyet argued that Fidan’s connection “was existent but considered a gaffe,” and that the resulting tempest reflected interior powerfulness struggles.

Commentator Cem Küçük of TGRT claimed that Erdoğan himself had been “misinformed” astir the program, believing that the archetypal 45 craft would already person “domestically produced engines.” According to him, Ankara has struck a woody for 90 American F110 engines, the aforesaid exemplary utilized successful F-16s.