The top contender against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday’s elections accused an unidentified Russian group of meddling in the vote to be held by NATO member Turkey.
(Bloomberg) — The top contender against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday’s elections accused an unidentified Russian group of meddling in the vote to be held by NATO member Turkey.
“Russian friends, you are behind conspiracies, Deep Fake content and tapes that were revealed in this country yesterday,” said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the presidential candidate of Turkey’s main opposition alliance.
“If you wish for our friendship to continue after May 15, take your hands off” the Turkish state, Kilicdaroglu said Thursday in a message in Russian and Turkish languages on Twitter.
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Kilicdaroglu made his accusation just hours after a presidential hopeful, Muharrem Ince, on Thursday withdrew from elections after denying the authenticity of an alleged sex tape and claims that he took bribes to split the opposition vote.
Under the leadership of Erdogan, Turkey developed close ties with the Kremlin. Russia is building the nation’s first nuclear power plant and has supplied the Turkish military with S-400 missile-defense systems, a move vehemently opposed by the US and NATO.
The Kremlin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the remarks.
“Putin has been actively supporting Erdogan’s reelection bid, singing his praises, giving him diplomatic wins, funneling money to Turkey, and deferring energy bills,” said Emre Peker, Europe director for Eurasia Group. “Amid longstanding opposition concerns over Russian cyber interference in Turkish elections, it’s not a surprise that Kilicdaroglu is calling out Moscow.”
Kilicdaroglu has vowed to repair Turkey’s strained ties with its US-led Western allies if elected. Last week, he said the opposition has intelligence that suggests it may be targeted on social media with fake video or voice records.
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“Kilicdaroglu’s intervention marks an effort by the opposition to preempt potential Erdogan campaigns to disparage the opposition — particularly by associating it with terrorism” to undermine the opposition and deter undecided voters from casting their ballots for the president’s main challenger, Peker said.
(Updates with request for comment from the Kremlin in sixth paragraph)
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