Turkey’s Erdogan Makes First Appearance After Falling Ill

Beril Akman
·3 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his first public appearance in two days on Thursday, easing speculation over his health after he became briefly ill on live TV.

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Erdogan spoke via video broadcast to mark the inaugural loading of fuel at a nuclear power plant on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. His government said earlier that the president was in good health although he was suffering from an “infection” affecting his digestive system.

The Turkish leader looked pale and tired during the 7-minute-long speech, where he refrained from addressing concerns surrounding his health.

Speculation had mounted after Erdogan fell ill during a television interview on Tuesday. He canceled several public appearances since then, including a visit to Akkuyu in Mersin province where the nuclear power plant is being built. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Erdogan would soon resume election campaigning after signs emerged that his “gastroenteritis infection” was abating.

The Turkish president pushed back his speech at the nuclear event by several hours to 4 p.m. local time. He spoke shortly after President Vladimir Putin of Russia, which is building the plant in cooperation with Turkey.

“The construction of a new nuclear power plant in Turkey and the creation of a new advanced high-tech industry in the country from scratch is another convincing example of how much you, Mr. President Erdogan, are doing for your country, for the growth of its economy, for all Turkish citizens,” Putin said in the broadcast. “I want to say directly: you know how to set ambitious goals and move confidently implement them.”

Russia may reduce natural gas supplies to Turkey once the Akkuyu plant reaches full capacity, Putin said.

Turkey’s Erdogan Cancels More Events Over Illness During TV Spot

Erdogan, who is facing his toughest election race since taking power in 2003, said earlier that he had an “upset stomach.”

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He has been on the campaign trail ahead of the May 14 vote, where he’ll face an alliance of six opposition parties joining forces to unseat him.

The opposition alliance has chosen Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, as its joint presidential contender in the election. Kilicdaroglu wished Erdogan a quick recovery in a post on Twitter.

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.

Erdogan asked Putin in October for Russia to build Turkey’s second nuclear power plant even as the US and Ankara’s NATO allies have sought to isolate the Kremlin leader’s economy over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

(An earlier version of this story corrected a typo in Erdogan’s name in the fourth paragraph)

--With assistance from Firat Kozok and Selcan Hacaoglu.

(Updates with energy details in 11th, 12th paragraphs)

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