ANKARA, May 3. /TASS/. Turkish Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu accused the US of planning to oust current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the upcoming May 14 presidential elections as a revenge for the failed coup attempts.

"We know that the US was behind the coup attempts in Turkey and they want revenge for the failed coups. We also know that they want to take revenge on Erdogan for destroying the system of power the US had built [in Turkey] since 1960s," Soylu said in an interview for Haberturk.

"The US carried out coups in Turkey in 1960, in 1971 and in 1980, as well as on February 28, 1998. Furthermore, they are involved in the Gezi park rallies [in Istanbul in 2013]. The US and the West infiltrated Turkish bodes of power and controlled state officials. Erdogan destroyed this system, so they want revenge. It is the US in particular who develop the coup plans," the Turkish minister continued, adding that Washington uses the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, as well as the FETO organization, which Ankara holds responsible for the 2016 coup attempt (both organizations outlawed in Turkey).

The Turkish Minister of the Interior has become one of the most prominent figures of the ongoing electoral campaign. He accuses the US and the West of interfering in the pre-election situation in Turkey in order to oust Erdogan on almost daily basis.

Erdogan and opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu are considered the key candidates for the presidential office. In order to win in the first round, a candidate must secure at least 50% plus 1 vote. Many experts consider such outcome unlikely. In this case, the second round will take place on May 28. The candidate that secures more votes wins.