ISTANBUL — Türkiye’s opposition is accusing Russia of trying to influence Sunday’s election to keep President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in office because some polls suggest he is on the verge of losing power.
In spite of Erdogan’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has long raised alarm bells, a sex tape scandal is becoming the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Muharrem İnce, the presidential candidate who led the main opposition party in 2018, left the race this week because rumors of an alleged sex tape spread online. The candidate argued that the tape was a profound spoof and said he had experienced an assassination attempt on a fake character.
Soon after, the Turkish opposition presidential candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, accused Russia of spreading deepfakes and conspiracies, including “tapes that were revealed in this country yesterday.”
“Take your hands off the Turkish state,” he wrote in a tweet on Thursday.
Kilicdaroglu told Reuters he has concrete evidence to back up his claims, but the Kremlin has denied his allegations.
In an interview with the Daily Beast, a member of parliament from the second largest party in Kilicdaroglu’s coalition said that – although he does not know the alleged evidence behind the claim – it is clear that Moscow is “supporting the claim” aid” Erdogan in his efforts. to stay in power.
Ahmet Erozan, who helps lead foreign affairs, said: “Certainly the Russians are interfering in another way in the election. for the Good Party.
Just three days before the election, Reuters reported that Russia was postponing a $600 million natural gas payment bill to next year. Erozan, a former ambassador, said the delay in payments was a way for Moscow to contribute to Erdogan’s campaign, adding that there was an “unusual increase” in trade between the two countries.
The country’s faltering economy is cited as the top reason Erdogan could lose, as massive inflation means people have to suffer from skyrocketing prices for everything from onions to chemicals. their petrol bill.
Erozan said that the Turkish-Russian relationship has become “too private” – dependent on the relationship between the two leaders rather than one led by state institutions – and Moscow may have to recalibrate their approach to Ankara.
“The Russians, they put all the eggs in Erdogan’s basket, all the eggs. Now, after the election results, they will have to face reality,” he said. “Türkiye will not be Erdogan’s Türkiye.”
Erzoan believes that billions of dollars in the central bank of unknown origin come from Russia.
Peas in a Pod
A person with close ties to the Turkish government said that the Russian president wants Erdogan to win because Putin will face less criticism when there is a president on the global stage with a leadership style. similar religious beliefs and political inclinations, such as a lack of respect for press freedom.
“He [Putin] wanted more people to like him so he wouldn’t stand out,” they told The Daily Beast. “If they were all bad, they wouldn’t stand out anymore… They’re the same and they exist together.”
This person compared the situation to when Trump was president, saying that Turkey pays less attention to rights and freedoms in the country because criticism is focused on Trump.
“When Trump was in office, it was good for us,” they added.
Hisyar Ozsoy, an MP and vice president of the pro-Kurdish HDP, which focuses on foreign affairs, said Erdogan is clearly Putin’s choice for a leader in Turkey. He believes that the delay in gas payments is the top way that Russia has helped the Turkish president, to limit the increase in utility bills of the people, as well as to send money to Turkey for the power plant. Nuclear.
He told The Daily Beast: “President Putin wants Erdogan to be his partner in Turkey, so those are some of the ways that he eases the pressure on Erdogan ahead of the election.
Putin heaped praise on the Turkish president three weeks before the election during a ceremony for Turkey’s first Russian-funded nuclear power plant.
“He knows that when Erdogan makes a promise, he will fulfill it.“
Putin said the ceremony and power plant showed how much Erdogan has done for the country, the economy and “for all Turkish citizens”, Russian state news agency TASS report.
Putin’s on-camera appearance comes as Erdogan cancels live events due to an apparent illness, giving the Turkish president a boost at a time when his strong man image has been chipped.
“I think Putin supports Erdogan, and would obviously prefer Erdogan,” Gulru Gezer, a former senior adviser at the Turkish Embassy in Moscow from 2017 to 2020, told The Daily Beast.
She said Russia was cautious in the face of rumors of interference in other countries’ elections.
“I know the Russians are handling this very carefully,” Gezer said.
Gezer said Putin and Erdogan’s similar personality traits – including power of expression and charisma – helped them bond, and pointed to their near-monthly phone calls as an example of Rare close relationship between leaders.
While emphasizing that the two countries will have to maintain relations with each other regardless of who wins the election, she said the simple fact that the Russian President has decades of experience dealing with Erdogan will make working with him. it becomes easier for him.
“If he doesn’t respect the person he sits with, he won’t have a closer relationship,” Gezer said. “He also has this relationship based on respect for Erdogan because he knows that when Erdogan makes a promise he will keep it.”
Gezer said that Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet that Ankara says violated its airspace shows the Kremlin that the Turkish government will stand firm.
In addition, Russia’s easing of financial requirements on Türkiye is a big boost for Mr.
The weakening Turkish lira has broken a record of decline against the dollar this year and the official inflation rate was reported at 44% in April. But independent economists say the figure is much higher, sometimes reporting double the rate set by the government.
Since Turkey depends on energy imports from abroad, that depreciating currency means a sharp increase in utility prices—and a lot of bills are paid to Russia, which supplies about 40% of its gas. natural import of Turkey.
