Turkey dismisses 'baseless' claims President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had heart attack

Turkey has dismissed claims that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered from a heart attack on Wednesday, describing them as "baseless".

Speculation over Erdogan's ill health has swirled in recent days after he cancelled a series of in-person appearances, including the inauguration on Thursday of a Russian-built nuclear power plant on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

Sharing screenshots of tweets speculating over Erdogan's health - including a claim that he had suffered a 'myocardial infarction' - the Turkish presidency's communications director Fahrettin Altun said: "We categorically reject such baseless claims regarding President @RTErdogan's health.

"No amount of disinformation can dispute the fact that the Turkish people stand with their leader and @RTErdogan and his AK Party are set to win the May 14 elections."

Altun said Erdogan would be attending the inauguration of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant via video call. 

The Kremlin said Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would speak on the phone on Thursday to mark the nuclear power reactor's inauguration. It said that it did not have any information on Erdogan’s reported health problems.

Erdogan cancelled three appearances in the Anatolia region of Turkey on Wednesday, due to what he said was a "stomach flu".

He cut short a live television interview late on Tuesday after getting sick on air.

The 69-year-old is currently in a tight presidential race with Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Erdogan had gastrointestinal surgery in 2012 but has otherwise enjoyed robust health.

Agencies contributed to this report