Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday said Türkiye has good relations with both the US and Russia.
Türkiye is "friends with America and Russia and those who are spiteful towards us in the West," Erdoğan said during a live broadcast with several Turkish television channels ahead of Sunday's presidential and parliamentary elections.
Erdogan's remarks came a day after Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, joint candidate for the six-party opposition Nation Alliance, on Thursday accused Russia of being behind video content allegedly discrediting candidates for the presidency in the upcoming May 14 elections.
"Ahead of the election campaign, Joe Biden made statements that 'Erdoğan should be overthrown'. He made this statement unfairly. After this statement, we met many times. He tried to backpedal when I asked him. Now Mr. Kemal has targeted the Russian side. Spokesperson Peskov from Russia said, 'He has to prove it.' 'If he can't prove it, he can't handle it,' he said. Mr. Kemal, you still have not learned this policy. 'I will impose sanctions on Russia,' he says. Many countries in Europe said so, then put the reverse gear. Such a state cannot be ruled. The ties must not be cut. I am also a friend of the US leader, and a friend of the Russian leader. I am also friends with those in the West who are vindictive towards us. Right now Biden is friendly enough to visit me at my house. But statements made by him offend me. On the other hand, I have never cut off my relations with Mr. Putin because the USA does not view Russia positively. How can I cut ties with a country with which I have such cooperation? Mr. Kemal, you are on the wrong track. There is no such approach from Russia towards Turkey. Unfortunately, the Westerners wanted a Türkiye that they held captive. Looking from here, it becomes clear whose candidate Kılıçdaroğlu is," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in his comments to journalists during a live broadcast.
In Türkiye, the presidential and parliamentary elections will take place on May 14.
On the presidential ballot, voters will choose between Erdoğan, Kılıçdaroğlu, and Sinan Ogan of the ATA Alliance. Muharrem Ince, another presidential contender, withdrew from the race on Thursday.
When asked about criticism that he would not leave the office following an opposition election win, Erdogan said that he would consider any result that comes out of the ballot box as "legitimate."
Earlier on Friday, Erdoğan blasted Kılıçdaroğlu over his remarks on Russia.
Kılıçdaroğlu "is attacking (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Russia," Erdogan told a youth event in Istanbul.
Recalling a 2019 interview by US President Joe Biden who said the US could support opposition elements in Türkiye to change the tide of political developments, Erdogan said: "But you are helpless, loser."
"But when you attack Putin now, I'm sorry, I won't accept it," he said.
"Because our relations with Russia are not behind our relations with the US at the moment," he said, adding that Türkiye's foreign trade volume with Russia is more than the US.
