“Russian President Putin expresses support for Erdogan amidst health concerns ahead of Turkish elections”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday gave strong support to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan who faces difficult presidential and legislative elections next month, hailing a leader with “ambitious goals”.

“You know how to set ambitious goals and you seek to achieve them with confidence,” Putin said during a videoconference ceremony to inaugurate Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, built by Russia.

Struggling with an intestinal virus, Erdogan reappeared live on television on Thursday, two days after having to interrupt a live interview. The Head of State, forced to cancel his trips on Wednesday and Thursday, 17 days before dangerous presidential and legislative elections, spoke by videoconference from the presidential palace in Ankara for the inauguration of the first nuclear power plant in Turkey.

“Our country has climbed into the league of countries with nuclear energy,” said Mr. Erdogan, his features drawn, dispelling however the most alarmist rumors about his state of health.

The inauguration of the Akkuyu power plant (South), built by the Russian giant Rosatom, was to be one of the highlights of the week for the Turkish president. Mr. Erdogan, who was initially to go there, had even expected the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also spoke by videoconference before him.

On Wednesday evening, the director of communications for the Turkish presidency, Fahrettin Altun, wanted to silence the rumors surging on social networks after the announcement of the cancellation of the two trips by the head of state scheduled for Thursday.

“We categorically reject such unsubstantiated claims regarding President @RTErdogan’s health,” Altun tweeted, sharing screenshots of widely relayed tweets claiming the Turkish president had suffered a heart attack.