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US Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday warned that a concentration of powers under a head of state was "corrosive", as he visited Turkey which has been accused of increasing authoritarian tendencies.
Biden will meet later in the day with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who in August won Turkey's presidential elections after over a decade in power as prime minister.
Critics have accused Erdogan of seeking to centralise powers in a powerful presidency, which until he took office was largely a ceremonial role in Turkey.
Speaking to an umbrella group of Turkish civil society groups known as the Checks and Balances Network, Biden noted that in the United States the three branches of power -- presidency, legislature and judiciary -- are equal in status.
"Our founders (of the United States) concluded that a concentration of powers was the most corrosive thing that can happen to any system," he said.
"We still believe that," he added.
Biden did not specifically refer to Turkey in his remarks open to the press ahead of a closed-door meeting, saying he was not in Istanbul to "proselytise".
But he added: "The best way to preserve freedom is not to have too much power concentrated in any branch of government."
He said his own insistence on the issue was so great that President Barack Obama "joked with me that I thought Congress should have more power than he does".
If he serves two presidential terms, Erdogan could stay in power until 2024. His party is hoping to win a large majority in Turkish legislative elections next year to change the constitution to a more presidential system.
Critics have accused Erdogan of seeking to diminish the importance of the Turkish parliament and also seeking to make the independent judiciary far more pliant. (Cihan/AFP)
Joe Biden, US Vice-President
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Var of speech of Biden
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