Erdogan attends nuclear plant ceremony via videolink amid health concerns

Russia's state nuclear energy company Rosatom built the Akkuyu nuclear power plant and Thursday's ceremony saw the first loading of nuclear fuel into the first power unit at the site in Turkey's southern Mersin province.

Erdogan thanked Putin for his support of Akkuyu and said Turkey has joined the league of countries with nuclear power after a 60-year delay.

Attending the ceremony in person, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi warned about the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine and urged world leaders to prevent any possible accidents.

Turkey is a Nato member but Erdogan has managed to maintain cordial relations with Putin despite the war in Ukraine. Last year, Turkey helped to broker, along with the United Nations, a deal that allowed the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports.

In a phone call before the ceremony at Akkuyu, Erdogan, and Putin also discussed the situation in Ukraine and the Black Sea grain deal, the Turkish leader's office said.

Erdogan also joined Thursday's ceremony by video link rather than travelling there due to poor health that forced him to cancel campaign rallies this week. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Erdogan was feeling better on Thursday.

Turkey faces landmark presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14.

Putin says he and Turkey's Erdogan agree to deepen cooperation

Putin hailed Moscow's burgeoning energy and wider economic ties with Ankara on Thursday as he and Erdogan took part virtually in a ceremony inaugurating Turkey's first nuclear power plant.

Putin said the two countries were working on an initiative by Erdogan to send flour made from Russian grain to countries that needed it.

Erdogan is in good health, suffering gastroenteritis - Turkish health minister

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Thursday that President Tayyip Erdogan was in good health and would continue with his daily scheduled programmes as soon as possible after Erdogan postponed some campaign rallies a day earlier.

Erdogan on Wednesday cancelled his scheduled campaign rallies for that day and Thursday, citing health reasons. Late on Tuesday, Erdogan cut short a live TV interview during which he said he felt unwell with an upset stomach.

"The infectious gastroenteritis he has experienced has lessened its effect," Koca said, speaking in the central Konya province.

The file of main candidates in the Turkish election ahead of the final list announcement

On Friday the Supreme Election Council is set to announce the final list of candidates for the presidential elections scheduled for May 14 in Turkey.

Erdogan faces the biggest test of his 20-year rule in May elections that will decide not only who leads Turkey but how it is governed, where its economy is headed and what role it may play to ease conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The opposition picked as its presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), and formed an alliance aiming to appeal to voters from the left and right, as well those with Islamist roots.

The opposition promises to reverse many of the policies of Erdogan, who has championed religious piety, military-backed diplomacy and low-interest rates.

The most powerful leader since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the modern Turkish Republic a century ago, Erdogan and his Islamist-based AK Party have shifted Turkey away from Ataturk's secular blueprint.

Erdogan has also centralized power around an executive presidency, based in a 1,000-room palace on the edge of Ankara, which sets policy on Turkey's economic, security, domestic and international affairs.

Critics say his government has muzzled dissent, eroded rights and brought the judicial system under its sway, a charge denied by officials who say it has protected citizens in the face of unique security threats including a 2016 coup attempt.

Economists say Erdogan's calls for low interest rates sent inflation soaring to a 24-year high of 85% last year, and the lira slumping to one-tenth of its value against the dollar over the last decade.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) head Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, has led the centre-left, secularist party since 2010. Under his leadership, the CHP has failed to close the gap with Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) in parliamentary elections.

With support holding between 22-26% in general elections, critics have questioned his ability to make the CHP the leading party at the national level. Kilicdaroglu was a civil servant who ran the social security institution before entering politics and he is a favourite target of Erdogan's criticism in speeches. His profile rose in 2017 when he led an opposition march from Ankara to Istanbul to protest the jailing of one of his lawmakers.

He spearheaded the formation of an alliance with the nationalist-centrist IYI Party, which helped them win municipal elections in Istanbul and Ankara in 2019. They expanded the so-called Nation Alliance in 2022 and have worked together to field a joint presidential candidate. Despite some opposition from the public and particularly from the IYI Party, Kilicdaroglu has played himself up as the candidate, after agreeing that the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara run as vice presidents.

Former CHP leader Muharrem Ince, who ran against Erdogan in the 2018 election, and Victory Parter leader Sinan Ogan also joined the race.

Homeland Party leader Ince is presenting himself as the alternative to former colleague Kilicdaroglu.

Initial polls since the recent 'quakes had suggested that Erdogan was able to largely retain his support despite the disaster. But the emergence of a united opposition, even after a delay in picking its candidate, could prove a bigger challenge for him, analysts say.

How the opposition will garner support among the Kurdish voters, accounting for 15% of the electorate, remains key. The co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said they may back Kilicdaroglu after a "clear and open" talk.