Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan voiced full support for Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call to discuss an armed insurrection by the Wagner mercenary group in Russia, the Kremlin said Saturday, Agence France-Presse reported.
“The president of Russia gave information about the situation in the country in connection with an attempted armed rebellion. The president of the Republic of Turkey expressed full support for the steps taken by the Russian leadership,” the Kremlin said.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s fighters crossed into Russia from occupied Ukraine overnight and took an army headquarters in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, which serves as a key operational hub for Moscow’s forces in Ukraine.
Earlier, the outspoken chief hit back at President Putin, who called Prigozhin a traitor in an address to Russians.
“On treason of the motherland: the president is deeply wrong. We are patriots of our motherland,” he said.
Erdoğan has maintained good relations with Putin throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey has benefited from rebates on Russian energy imports and refused to subscribe to Western sanctions on the Kremlin.