Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a planned visit to a landmark nuclear project on Thursday after he fell ill during a live TV interview earlier this week.
(Bloomberg) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a planned visit to a landmark nuclear project on Thursday after he fell ill during a live TV interview earlier this week.
Erdogan, who faces elections on May 14, had been scheduled to take part at a ceremony to load initial fuel into the $20 billion Akkuyu nuclear power plant that Russia is building on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.
Instead, he’ll be attending the ceremony via video call from his palace in Ankara, Turkey’s capital. Russian President Vladimir Putin will also attend by video link.
Erdogan, who is facing his toughest election since taking power in 2003, has remained out of public view since a TV interview late Tuesday during which he was suddenly taken ill with what he described as an upset stomach.
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Erdogan’s been on the campaign trail ahead of elections where he’ll face an alliance of six opposition parties joining forces to unseat him.
He was expected to use the nuclear power plant ceremony to bolster support among voters who back the Turkish leader’s “strongman” image and close ties with the Kremlin ruler. He abandoned a plan to visit the city of Mersin for the event on the advice of doctors, an official with direct knowledge said, asking not to be identified.
Erdogan has relied on his rapport with Putin to seek discounts and deferrals in payments for energy imports from Russia to alleviate pressure on the lira, as the country’s cost-of-living crisis threatens his chances of extending his 20-year rule.
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Russia is a critical energy supplier for Turkey. It provided a quarter of Turkey’s crude oil imports and around 40% of its natural gas purchases last year, giving Moscow a huge surplus in bilateral trade.
–With assistance from Firat Kozok.
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