Erdogan’s opponent accuses Russia of meddling in elections: “Keep your hands off Turkey!”

Turkish presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu has accused Russia of creating deepfake content and spreading conspiracies in the Turkish election campaign. “Keep your hands off Turkey,” Kilicdaroglu wrote on Twitter on Thursday evening. What exactly he meant, he left open. Deepfakes are media content that has been manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques.

The Kremlin denies allegations that Russia interfered in Turkey’s presidential election. “We strongly reject these claims,” ​​Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. “We officially declare: there should be no interference.” Russia attaches great importance to relations with Türkiye. Western countries consistently accuse Russia of meddling in elections, particularly through disinformation campaigns.

On May 14, people in Turkey are called to elect a president and a new parliament. Polls are predicting a tense race between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu, who is running for a six-party alliance with different ideological leanings. Kılıçdaroğlu currently has a slight lead.

Kilicdaroglu: «We will not allow any interference»

On Thursday, one of Erdogan’s four challengers gave up his candidacy. Muharrem Ince of the Fatherland Party spoke of “defamatory” recordings. Recently allegations of corruption had been leveled against him and compromising images have surfaced. Whether these are authentic is completely unclear.

During an election campaign speech in Istanbul on Sunday, Turkish President Erdogan allegedly showed an election campaign video of his challenger Kilicdaroglu. A member of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK was slashed. The video appeared as if the man was singing the CHP’s campaign song.

Presidential candidate Kilicdaroglu has announced a balanced relationship with Russia if he wins the election. “We want to keep our relations, we don’t want to break our friendly relations, but we will not allow interference in our internal affairs,” he told Reuters. He will push for another peace initiative between Russia and Ukraine if he wins the election. A peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is important for Turkey and the whole world.

Erdogan poses as a mediator in the war in Ukraine

Russia and Turkey have expanded their relations in recent years. In the Ukraine conflict, Erdogan presents himself as a mediator and speaks with both Moscow and Kiev.

When asked if he would support NATO expansion if elected, Kilicdaroglu said: “Of course.” He left the details open. The Erdogan government is currently blocking Sweden’s accession to NATO because it accuses the Nordic country of not taking enough action against Kurdish extremists. Kilicdaroglu explained that in the 21st century, NATO is not only a purely military organization, but also an organization that defends democracy. “We will maintain our relationship with NATO in the same framework as in the past.” (dpa, afp, Reuters, t-online)