Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogandefended this Friday his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putinof the accusations about an alleged electoral interference by Moscow in Turkey in the next presidential elections.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Erdogan’s opposition candidate, on Thursday accused russian actors — without naming them — of spreading “deepfakes” and other forms of disinformation to try to influence the outcome of the vote on Sunday.
He kremlin He “firmly” rejected these accusations and Erdogan defended Putin during a television address.
“Mr. Kemal attacks Russia, Mr. Putin. If he attacks Putin, I will not agree to that,” the Turkish president declared. “Our relations with Russia are no less important than those we have with USA“, he added.
Erdogan has maintained good relations with Moscow since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Türkiyea member of the NATObenefited from discounts on Russian energy imports and has refused to back Western sanctions against the Kremlin.
The latest polls predict that Sunday’s vote will be close. Kilicdaroglu’s remarks came amid an increasingly aggressive campaign that saw Muharrem Ince, a third-party candidate, withdraw on Thursday.
Ince announced his retirement after being the subject of an online smear campaign that included doctored photos of him with women and driving luxury cars.
Erdogan has also released fake videos at some of his rallies, attempting to associate Kilicdaroglu with the PKK, a banned Kurdish armed organization in the country, which Turkey and its allies regard as a “terrorist” group.
