Turkish President Erdogan live TV appearance sparks rumours about his health

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stays very strong and full of energy. He will rule Turkey for a long time to come, Fahrettin Altun, the head of Erdogan's media communications department said commenting reports on Erdogan's health on the eve of the presidential election in Turkey on May 14, TASS reports.

"One tries to turn political realities upside down by spreading those rumours and misinformation about the health of our president. Our president is extremely strong, he is full of energy and he will continue to rule the country for a long time to come,” the official said.

The Center for Combating Disinformation of Erdogan's administration thus denied media reports about the his heart attack and deteriorating health condition.

"Reports on social media that President Erdogan allegedly suffered a heart attack and was subsequently hospitalised are not true,” the statement posted on the official Twitter account of the department said.

It was said that Recep Erdogan would take part (via video link) in the ceremony to load first fuel at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. The ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 27.

In turn, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that Erdogan only had mild cold.

On April 25, Recep Erdogan was giving an interview to Turkish TV channels. He felt unwell at some point of the interview. The incident drew attention of world media. The interview had to be interrupted at the moment when a journalist started asking the president about future reshuffles in the country's Cabinet. After a long pause, Erdogan returned to the live broadcast, apologised before the audience and wished everyone good health. The president also admitted that he had caught stomach flu.

On April 26, Erdogan announced that doctors forbade him to speak in public on the eve of the elections. The same day it was reported that the Turkish president allegedly suffered a heart attack. It was said that he was hospitalised, and his condition was assessed as serious.

However, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay assured that the president was feeling well.

In February, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned 69 years old. Turkey will hold its presidential election on May 14.