Turkish Health Minister Fakhruddin Koca announced the latest health condition of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, explaining that he is in “good condition” after suffering from gastroenteritis.
“I was with him this morning. He sends many greetings to all of you. Our president is in good health,” Koga said during a speech in Konya on Thursday.
“Everyone is interested in the health of the Turkish president,” Koca continued, while stressing that “the impact of gastroenteritis has subsided and he will resume his plans soon. Thanks to all the guys who sent him congratulations.”
Erdogan plans to attend a “first fuel loading ceremony for the Okuyu nuclear power plant” hours later, via video technology, in the presence of Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, according to Turkish media.
Later on Thursday, the opening was changed from 13:30 to 16:00.
Since Tuesday evening, the Turkish president’s health has been the subject of much debate in Turkish circles, with Erdogan cutting short a late broadcast of a television interview to say he was unwell due to stomach pains.
Erdogan interrupted a live TV interview due to his ill health
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan interrupted a live TV interview on Tuesday to talk about his stomach flu before returning to apologise.
The broadcast interruption sparked controversy, with questions being raised about Erdogan’s health, with the Turkish president posting a tweet the next day in which he said he would “rest at home on the advice of doctors”.
There was a lot of work yesterday and today. That’s why I got stomach flu. I thought if I cancel the meeting for a minute, it will be misunderstood. But we made a promise. Please forgive me. and your audience.”
The Turkish leader has been campaigning tirelessly ahead of presidential and legislative elections, the first of which began on Thursday, with voters outside the country due to vote inside next May 14.
His main rival, 74-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a “national coalition” that includes 6 opposition parties, Erdogan immediately wished a “speedy recovery”. He also wished many alliance leaders a speedy recovery. Good Party”, Merel Aksner. and his former companions, Ahmed Tavutoglu and Ali Babakhan.
Without citing any sources, Chinese state TV channel CGTN said on Wednesday that Erdogan had suffered a heart attack, a report the Turkish president quickly denied, while the Chinese channel returned to airing an explanatory report denying its original claim.
Meanwhile, Russian Telegram accounts said Russian President Vladimir Putin rushed to the Kremlin after hearing news of Erdogan’s health, which was denied by the Turkish president, via a tweet posted by communications chief Fahrettin Altun.
The health of the Turkish president has always been a matter of controversy within the country, especially with the opposition, which has raised the issue before, while the Western media focused on it.
On October 29, 2021, a video clip of Erdogan walking with difficulty went viral on social media, but the Turkish president soon posted a counter-post showing him playing basketball.
On November 3 of that year, a series of posts on Twitter claimed Erdogan was dead and the government was covering up the news, prompting Turkish authorities at the time to take legal action against 30 people accused in the publication.
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