Aid for Erdogan?

How Putin is meddling in the Turkey election campaign

Created: 01/16/2023, 02:39 p.m

By: Erkan Pehlivan

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia.

© IMAGO/Alexander Demianchuk

Elections are due in Turkey in June.

Russia is also involved in the election campaign.

Putin is accommodating Erdogan and is supposed to give him a delay in paying off his debt.

Ankara/Moscow - Turkey is not participating in the sanctions against Russia.

In addition, hundreds of Russian entrepreneurs have set up companies in Turkey or participated in them in order to be able to continue doing business with foreign countries.

Apparently, this is now paying off for the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Moscow uses its influence and mediates between Syria and Turkey so that relations between the two states can normalize.

"The diplomatic efforts between Russia, Syria and Turkey are bearing fruit," Erdogan said in a speech last week.

That is why 550,000 refugees have returned from Syria.

The first meetings at ministerial level were mediated by Russia.

A meeting between Erdogan and Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad could take place in the coming months.

Moscow mediates between Turkey and Syria and grants a reprieve on gas debts

Ankara has long been trying to get Moscow to postpone debt repayments.

“Negotiations continue (…).

We are talking about procrastination and many other things that are of financial benefit to the country," Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on a broadcast by the Haber Türk channel in early January.

The talks are primarily about the debts of the state-owned gas trading company BOTAŞ.

Turkey's mountain of debt is now said to have grown to around $20 billion.

The opposition, on the other hand, speaks of manipulation of the elections in Turkey by Russia.

"Russia will postpone our $20 billion debt (...) and use cheap natural gas to influence the elections and interfere in our internal affairs," criticized MP Bülent Kusoglu from the opposition party CHP on Twitter at the beginning of the year.

Turkey has massive economic problems.

Inflation of over 64 percent and currency depreciation is felt in all parts of the population.

That could prevent Erdogan and his AKP from being re-elected.

Russia, on the other hand, could help the country financially.

There is also currently speculation on social media about whether Erdogan will get help from Russian hackers in the elections, similar to the 2016 US election campaign. (

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