US ‘respects’ decision of Turkish voters, looks forward to ‘constructive relationship with Erdoğan’

WASHINGTON

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. June 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

he U.S. State Department said late on June 25 that Washington “respects” the choices made by Turkish voters in the snap presidential and parliamentary elections held over the weekend and under an ongoing state of emergency.

“We respect the decision of Turkish voters and look forward to a constructive relationship with President [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan as we jointly confront common challenges,” the State Department told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency in a written statement.

The statement also noted that the U.S. encourages all elected Turkish representatives, including President Erdoğan, to represent the diverse views of all citizens and to strengthen the country’s democracy.

Turkey on June 24 went to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections in which Erdoğan won the Turkish presidency, according to preliminary results.

With 99.6 percent of the ballots counted, Erdoğan was leading with 52.58 percent of the vote while his closest rival, Muharrem İnce, was on 30.64 percent.

Meanwhile, the U.S. also said on June 25 that it is working to set up a telephone call between President Donald Trump and Erdoğan.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the call would focus on reaffirming the “strong bond” between Washington and Ankara. She did not disclose when the call might take place.

“We encourage Turkey to take steps to strengthen its democracy and continue progress toward resolving issues in the bilateral relationship,” she told reporters.