The Turkish Presidency has officially denied a document widely circulated on social media, which falsely claimed that Turkey had taken an official position that Somalia did not have F-16 fighter jets and was not suitable to host them.
A press release from the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Directorate said the document was completely false and did not represent the official position of the Turkish government or the Ministry of Defense.
“The document being circulated on social media, which is claimed to have come from the Ministry of Defense and is linked to Somalia, is completely false,” the statement said.
The presidency clarified that no official Turkish agency had issued a statement stating that Somalia did not have F-16 fighter jets or questioning the legality of hosting them.
It also pointed out that the document does not comply with the format, language and format of the official documents of the Turkish Ministry of Defense, and does not appear on the official government channels.
The press release added that the signature mentioned in the document, which is attributed to Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, is fake and incorrect.
Turkish authorities warned the public that the document and related news appear to be deliberately aimed at harming Turkish-Somali relations and misleading public opinion at a sensitive time.
“Such articles and propaganda that deliberately target Turkish-Somali relations and mislead the public are not worthy of belief,” the statement said.
Turkey and Somalia have deep diplomatic, security and strategic ties, including cooperation in defense and capacity building.
