Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to deepen economic, trade and agricultural cooperation between their countries, Reuters reported.

Erdogan, suffering from stomach problems, in his first televised appearance since canceling campaign eventsPhoto: TASS / ddp USA / Profimedia

Putin spoke during the ceremony for the delivery of nuclear fuel for Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, which is being built by Russia.

Putin also said the two countries are working on Erdogan’s initiative to send flour made from Russian grain to countries that need it.

The suffering Erdogan appears again on television

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is suffering from an intestinal virus, reappeared on television Thursday looking tired, two days after he was forced to cut short a live interview and then other campaign events in three weeks before the presidential elections. He spoke via video conference from the presidential palace in Ankara at the grand opening of Turkey’s first power plant.

Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections close on May 14, and Erdogan canceled campaign rallies scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday due to health concerns after falling ill on Tuesday night during a television interview. The president initially said he hoped to resume his campaign on Thursday, but as of that day he also canceled his campaign activities.

Earlier, Putin and Erdogan spoke by phone

Earlier in the day, Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan spoke on the phone before the ceremonial opening of Turkey’s first Russian-built nuclear power plant, the Kremlin said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov said that after a telephone conversation, the two heads of state will take part in the ceremony of loading nuclear fuel into the first power unit at Akkuyu via video conference.

Answering questions about Erdogan’s alleged health problems, Peskov said that Moscow does not know anything about it.

The first nuclear reactor in Turkey, built by Rosatom

The Akkuyu nuclear power plant, located in Mersin province in southern Turkey, was built by the Russian state nuclear power company Rosatom, Reuters reports.

With a capacity of 4,800 megawatts (MW), the US$20 billion plant project, which involves the construction of four reactors in the Mediterranean city of Akkuyu, will allow Turkey to join a small club of nuclear power-producing nations.