On Thursday, the main opposition candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, accused unnamed Russian actors of spreading “deepfake” content and other misinformation aimed at influencing the outcome of Sunday’s election.
For its part, the Russian presidency has “strongly” denied this accusation, and Erdogan stood by Putin during a televised appearance in his election campaign on Friday.
“Mr. Kemal attacks Russia, Mr. Putin. If I attack Putin, I will not agree with that,” Erdogan said.
“Our relations with Russia are no less important than relations with the United States,” added the Turkish president.
Opinion polls show Erdogan fighting a tough battle against his secular opposition rival.
Kilicdaroglu’s comments came amid an increasingly targeted campaign.
The campaign saw the withdrawal of the party’s third candidate, Muharram Ince, on Thursday, and the latter announced his decision after being targeted by an online campaign that included fake photos of him showing him meeting women and drive in luxury cars.
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