Peskov denied Erdogan’s opponent’s accusations of interfering in Turkey’s internal affairs

Russia does not interfere in the electoral processes of other countries. This statement was made by the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the accusations of the Turkish presidential candidate from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kılıçdaroglu.

“I do not know what was the reason for such appeals. This is the first. We have repeatedly said and insist that we do not interfere in the internal affairs and electoral processes of foreign states. <...> We officially declare that there can be no question of any interference, and if someone provided such information to Mr. Kılıçdaroglu, then they are liars,” he said.

Peskov recalled that Moscow values ​​relations with Ankara. “The Republic of Turkey has so far taken a very responsible, sovereign and thoughtful position on a whole range of regional and global problems that we are facing. And this position is very appealing to us,” the Kremlin spokesman emphasized.

The day before, on May 11, Kılıçdaroğlu accused Russia of interfering in the electoral process and, in particular, of spreading fake news about him.

General elections in Turkey are scheduled for May 14. They will be attended by the current head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu, as well as the candidate from the nationalist alliance Sinan Ogan. Also, the leader of the Fatherland Party, Muharrem Ince, was supposed to participate in the elections, but on May 11 he decided to withdraw his candidacy without specifying the reasons. He only noted that he “resisted” for 45 days, during which he survived more than in 45 years. Ince accused opponents of trying to destroy his reputation.