Russian journalist produces documentary on Türkiye’s president

By Ali Cura

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian international affairs journalist and TASS news agency First Deputy Director-General Mikhail Gusman presented a documentary on Monday about Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Turkish Embassy in Moscow.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko, Türkiye's Ambassador to Russia Mehmet Samsar, TASS Director-General Sergey Mikhaylov and diplomatic representatives of foreign countries and journalists attended the screening, which was held under the auspices of the embassy.

In the documentary, which was made for the Formula of Power series, Erdogan's life since his childhood, his rise in politics, his success and his services during his administration were recounted along with sections from a previous interview.

In addition, important statements from President Erdogan's book "A Fairer World Is Possible,” which was translated into Russian with the coordination of the Directorate of Communications, were included in the documentary, and Erdogan's views were emphasized.

The documentary was also broadcast on Russian state television channel Rossiya-24 a short while ago.

After the screening, Gusman answered Anadolu's questions about President Erdogan and the documentary.

He said he has interviewed Erdogan four times and has met with more than 400 important names within the framework of the program, which he has been preparing and presenting for 22 years.

Gusman said he had a meeting with Erdogan twice while he was prime minister and twice when he was president.

"President Erdogan is a great politician. Erdogan's role as a leader today is extremely important not only in Türkiye, but also in the world," he said.

"What impressed me the most about him was his incredible ability to understand the arguments, to dig deep into the core of the issues we discussed," Gusman said.

"He didn't just answer questions. He provided a multi-layered analysis of the issues we discussed as a whole.”

Drawing attention to the close relationship between Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Gusman said: "Yes, there may be their different points of view on many issues. Their analyses or some of their evaluations may differ. But it is vital for the world that those leaders have a trustworthy relationship, which is very important."

Discussing the purpose of the documentary, Gusman said the presidential election was held in Türkiye a short time ago and they wanted to show Erdogan to millions of Russians.

Noting that the documentary has been shown on state TV channels twice in the last two days, reaching millions of people, he said "it is very important to present Erdogan to the Russian audience. Unfortunately, people in Türkiye and Russia do not know much about the world leaders, even the leaders of their neighboring countries. Türkiye has been our neighbor and partner for many years. President Erdogan has been in power for many years. It is very important to provide a complete portrait of him and to tell his story."

Gusman said he would like to interview Erdogan for a fifth time if possible, adding he would be very happy if this happened.

Emphasizing that he loves Turkish music, he noted that he often listens to it at home and in his car.

He also said that he deeply respects the Turkish people.