Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has addressed the ongoing efforts to extinguish the forest fires in Turkey's Mediterranean and Aegean regions, admitting that the country has not even a single firefighting plane in its inventory.
Erdogan's comments came as the government is under serious criticism for not owning even one usable firefighting plane and instead leasing them from Russia.
Social media users have slammed the government for not owning even one single firefighting plane, saying Erdoğan has several in his possession.
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Alpay Antmen reported from the scene of the forest fires in Mersin, where he said Erdogan has 13 planes in his possession, while no firefighting plane has been utilized in Mersin.
The opposition also attacked Erdogan late Saturday after a video showed the leader throwing tea to residents in fire-affected areas.
In another video, he is throwing tea to people on the side of the road from a bus.
"Tea! It's unbelievable. Those who lose their shame, lose their heart too," main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesman Faik Oztrak tweeted.
The government has also been criticized over the lack of firefighting planes, with Turkey forced to accept help from Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Ukraine.
Experts warn climate change will wreak further damage in Turkey, causing more wildfires if necessary measures to tackle the problem are not taken.
According to European Union figures, Turkey has been hit by 133 wildfires in 2021 so far compared to an average of 43 by this point in the year between 2008 and 2020.
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