European leaders congratulate Erdoğan on election win
BERLIN/LONDON
European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, congratulated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 25 on his presidential election win.
In a message sent to Erdoğan and released by her office, Merkel underlined that both countries were facing similar challenges due to the conflicts in the region.
“The upheavals in the Near and Middle East, and the consequent refugee flows, are significantly affecting our two countries. In that respect, Turkey has taken great responsibility,” she said.
Merkel underlined the traditionally friendly relations between Berlin and Ankara and also expressed support for stability and democracy in Turkey.
“I am looking forward to working with you to further enhance and deepen cooperation between our countries,” she said.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also applauded the Turkish president and mentioned a potential probable high-level visit to accelerate bilateral ties.
British Prime Minister Theresa May also congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his latest election victory on June 25.
May called President Erdoğan and said she looked forward to further strengthen the bilateral relations between Turkey and the U.K., according to Turkish presidential sources.
Erdoğan and May agreed to meet at the upcoming NATO summit in July in Brussels.
In another telephone call, Turkish leaders received congratulations from Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
EU lauds high turnout
Meanwhile, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and Commissioner Johannes Hahn on June 25 lauded Turkey’s elections highlighting “very high voter turnout”.
The turnout in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections was around 87 percent. So far, 99.9 percent of votes of June 24 polls have been counted.
In a joint statement both said turnout and the “broad spectrum of candidates and parties” competing in Sunday’s elections “reaffirmed the strong attachment of the Turkish people to democratic processes and the pursuit of their civil liberties as well as the rule of law and fundamental freedoms”.
The statement also cited the EU’s election observation mission the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) saying “the voters had a genuine choice, but the conditions for campaigning were not equal”.
“We will work with the President and the Parliament to address together the many common challenges ahead of us,” read the statement.
EU officials said Sunday’s elections “trigger the entry into force of the new presidential system”.
The statement also suggested that it would be beneficial if the country urgently addressed certain shortcomings regarding the rule of law and fundamental rights.
Though there was no official congratulations from the EU to Erdoğan, the European Commission spokesman had said earlier today that Turkey will hopefully “remain a committed partner” for the EU.
"We hope that under President Erdogan’s leadership, Turkey will remain a committed partner for the European Union on major issues of common interest such as migration, security, regional stability and fight against terrorism,” he said.