Ailing Turkish President Erdogan re-emerges by video link with Putin

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s ailing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday re-emerged from a two-day absence, appearing in a live video linkup with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Looking wan and sporting bags under his eyes, the 69-year-old Turkish leader was shown seated behind his desk at a virtual ceremony unveiling a

Russian-built nuclear power plant

.

Mr Erdogan suspended all campaigning for Turkey’s pivotal May 14 election after getting sick while conducting a live TV interview on Tuesday evening.

He looked wan during the interview and then

cut it off in the middle of a question 10 minutes into the show.

The camera shook and the screen turned blank before going to a commercial break. A voice could be heard saying, “Oh, wow” in the background, while someone repeatedly coughed.

Mr Erdogan returned about 15 minutes later and apologised for getting sick.

He said he developed “stomach flu” while hopping between five cities for campaign rallies and public project launches on Monday and Tuesday.

Health Minister Fehrettin Koca said on Thursday that Mr Erdogan had “infectious gastroenteritis” – a short-term illness caused by the inflammation of the digestive tract.

‘Disinformation’

But the health scare has upturned Mr Erdogan’s travel schedule and

complicated his path to a third decade of rule.

Mr Erdogan is known for his love of campaigning and embrace of political fights.

Polls show him running neck-and-neck or losing against

opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu

in Turkey’s most momentous election in decades – if not its entire post-Ottoman history.

His Islamic-rooted party’s control of Parliament through an alliance with a far-right group is also under threat.

Mr Erdogan has used his campaign speeches to launch venomous barbs at the opposition and portray himself as a man who gets the job done.

That image has been shaken – and his office is fighting back.

The president’s powerful media director Fahrettin Altun posted screenshots on Twitter of Chinese state media and some popular accounts speculating about Mr Erdogan’s condition being more serious than officially reported.

“We categorically reject such baseless claims regarding President Erdogan’s health,” Mr Altun wrote. “No amount of disinformation can dispute the fact that the Turkish people stand with their leader and Erdogan and his AK Party are set to win the May 14 elections.”

Guarded secret

Rumours about Mr Erdogan’s health have been swirling since he underwent two gastrointestinal surgeries in 2011 and 2012.

The operations went well but left him with a slight hitch in his gait that appears to have fed some of the social media speculation.

Turkey does not publicise the results of its leaders’ health evaluations and makes it illegal to “insult the president”.

Thousands of people have been prosecuted for the offence – punishable by either a fine or a jail term of up to four years.

Turkey’s main opposition leaders all quickly tweeted messages wishing Mr Erdogan a speedy recovery.

Mr Erdogan’s video link hookup with Mr Putin was part of a video conference to unveil the nuclear power plant Russia began building in 2018.

On Thursday, Mr Putin hailed the opening of the plant, describing the facility as a “flagship” project that would cement bilateral ties. 

“This is a flagship project and it brings both mutual economic benefits and, of course, helps to strengthen the multifaceted partnership between our two states,” Mr Putin said during the official opening of the facility.

The Akkuyu plant’s construction on Turkey’s southern shore had been complicated by sanctions the West imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

“Yes, we have certain logistical problems,” Akkuyu plant director Sergei Butskikh told reporters on the eve of the launch.

“The transportation routes are getting longer. Not all of the shipping companies are able to work with us. So here, yes, we feel the sanctions. But this has not affected the quality of the plant’s construction,” he said.

Mr Erdogan has been one of the few world leaders to maintain good relations with Mr Putin by refusing to sign up to Western sanctions on Russia and trying to mediate an end to the war. AFP