ISTANBUL: Turkey’s ailing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday re-emerged from a two-day absence and spoke by video link with Vladimir Putin at a virtual ceremony unveiling a Russian-built nuclear power plant.
The 69-year-old leader suspended all campaigning for Turkey’s pivotal May 14 election after getting sick while conducting a live TV interview on Tuesday evening.
Erdogan said he had developed an upset stomach while hopping between five cities for rallies and public project launches at the start of the week.
Health Minister Fehrettin Koca said on Thursday that Erdogan had “infectious gastroenteritis” — a short-term illness caused by the inflammation of the digestive tract.
But the scare forced Erdogan to cancel events on Wednesday and then stay at home instead of travelling to the Mediterranean coast for Thursday’s grand opening of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant.
The video appearance represented Erdogan’s effort to project health and vigour at one of the more vulnerable moments of his two-decade rule.
But he looked wan and visibly frail as he addressed Putin and the nation from behind his presidential desk.
“Our country has risen to the league of nations with nuclear power, albeit after a 60-year delay,” Erdogan said in prepared remarks.
Erdogan is known for his love of campaigning and embrace of political fights.
Polls suggest either that he is running neck-and-neck or losing against opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Turkey’s most momentous election in decades.
His Islamic-rooted party’s control of parliament through an alliance with a far-right group is also under threat.
Erdogan had used his rallies to launch fierce attacks at the opposition and portray himself as a man who gets the job done.
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