Erdogan maintained a good working relationship with Putin during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Istanbul, Türkiye:
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday defended Russia’s Vladimir Putin from allegations of meddling in Turkey’s crucial weekend election.
Erdogan’s secular rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu on Thursday accused unnamed Russian actors of spreading “deep fakes” and other disinformation aimed at influencing the outcome of Sunday’s vote.
The Kremlin “strongly” denied the allegation and Erdogan stood up for Putin in a televised campaign appearance on Friday.
Erdogan said, “Mr. Kemal is attacking Russia, Mr. Putin. If you attack Putin, I will have no problem with it.”
“Our relationship with Russia is no less important than with the United States.”
Erdogan maintained a good working relationship with Putin during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey has benefited from waivers on Russian energy imports and the Kremlin has refused to subscribe to Western sanctions.
Polls show Erdogan is locked in a tough fight against his secular opposition rival.
Kilicdaroglu’s comments came in the heat of an increasingly murky campaign that saw third-party candidate Muharrem Ines withdraw on Thursday.
Innes announced his decision after being targeted by an online campaign that included morphed images of him meeting women and riding in fancy cars.
Erdogan has also been airing misleading videos during rallies that seek to link Kilikdaroglu with members of a banned Kurdish militia that Turkey and its allies see as “terrorists”.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)