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Top Turkish Diplomat Slams Kilicdaroglu Over Russia Meddling Claims

Sputnik – 21.05.2023

ANKARA – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has criticized opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu for falsely accusing Russia of meddling in the presidential race, which will be decided next Sunday.

Kilicdaroglu said ahead of the first round of voting that Russia was interfering in the electoral process but gave no proof or details to support his claim. The Kremlin denied the accusation.

“Mr. Kilicdaroglu has been threatening Russia. It is wrong to undermine our ties with a country like that,” Cavusoglu told the Haberturk news channel in an interview.

The minister said he had asked Kilicdaroglu, who will challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the May 28 runoff, if he had any evidence of Russian meddling, to which he responded with “It was my impression.”

Cavusoglu said the aspiring president should “be more serious” and refrain from hurling groundless accusations at other countries based on his gut feeling.

The diplomat also denied that Russia’s decision to allow Turkiye to delay gas payments until 2024 had anything to do with the elections. Cavusoglu said Turkiye was negotiating deferred gas payments with all suppliers after a surge in prices last year.

On Syria, Cavusoglu said Turkiye was negotiating refugee returns with the Syrian government. He estimated that a half million Syrians had returned from Turkiye to so-called safe zones in their home country.

May 21, 2023 - Posted by | Russophobia |

2 Comments »

  1. Noted. I’ve always admired Mr. Cavusoglu…wasn’t he President of Turkey prior to Erdogan? I much prefer his personality and style…. Glad to see that he’s FM and still active in the mix of Turkish politics and diplomacy….

    Like

    Comment by roberthstiver | May 21, 2023 | Reply

    • I believe I’m thinking of Ahmet Davutoğlu…liked him a lot.

      Like

      Comment by roberthstiver | May 21, 2023 | Reply


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