Erdoğan congratulates Trump on apparent US election victory

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has congratulated former U.S. President Donald Trump on his apparent victory in the 2024 presidential election.

"I congratulate my friend Donald Trump, who won the presidential election in the U.S. after a great struggle and was reelected," Erdoğan said in a post on X Wednesday.

According to multiple media projections, Trump has regained the presidency after a four-year term under current President Joe Biden. The former president currently has 267 Electoral College votes, just shy of the 270 needed to win the White House.

Fox News has already declared Trump the victor, and the Republican has hailed his "magnificent victory." If the projections hold, Trump would become only the second U.S. president to serve non-consecutive terms, following Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s.

In his message, Erdoğan expressed hope that Turkish-U.S. relations would grow stronger under a renewed Trump administration. He also said he hopes regional and global conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and the situation in Palestine, would come to an end.

"I believe that more efforts will be made for a fairer world. I hope the elections will be auspicious for the friendly and allied people of the U.S. and all humanity," Erdoğan said.