Erdogan Wins Election on Anti-US Mandate: Can Putin Woo Turkey Out of America’s Orbit?
Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed in a phone call today the cooperation to settle the Syrian conflict. They also emphasized the priority of joint energy projects, including the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and the TurkStream pipeline. Both sides confirmed their mutual interest in expanding partnership between the two countries. Vladimir Putin congratulated the Turkish President on his resounding election victory. Moscow believes the election results speak highly of the political prestige of the current Turkish president. With the turnout of almost 90%, he secured over 50% of all votes. Erdogan's supporters regained control over the parliament while the country is ultimately moving on to the new presidential system of government. Brussels pointed out that Turkey now has an all-powerful leader. However, they didn't find any reasons to doubt the legitimacy of the election results.
Andrei Grigoriev with the details.
Up until today, you could witness heated political debates at Ulus market in Istanbul. The elections, however, settled the argument and yesterday's inveterate opponents are sorting fruits together.
"Only Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Turkey. He defeated his opponents once again and confirmed that he's the only leader we need".
Turkey celebrated Erdogan's victory all night. Pro-Erdogan rallies were held in all the large cities.
"We're very, very happy. We said he would be our president and we did it. We elected a new president!"
Such large screens were placed all over Ankara's squares so that people could monitor the vote counting live. Here you can see Erdogan's supporters, who respond even to the slightest change in numbers.
First, Erdogan thanked the voters in a televised address from the Huber Kiosk palace.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish president: "Thanks to our people's support, we will continue to act decisively against anyone who poses a threat to our country through terrorist organizations within and outside the country's territory".
Later, Erdogan greeted his supporters in the center of Istanbul. It's his second presidential term. Before it, he had headed the Turkish government for eleven years. Erdogan's speech, however, wasn't long. As soon as he was notified that, in the course of the celebrations, an 8-year-old boy had hurt his leg, the president-elect rushed to the hospital to visit him.
Several American military bases are located in Turkey, a NATO member. However, despite the storm of criticism coming from the United States, Turkey keeps buying S-400 Triumf missile systems from Russia. Russia and Turkey are working on a lot of joint projects.
Aleksei Yerkhov, Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Turkey: "First of all, it's the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, a project that will be going on for decades. Another project is the TurkStream pipeline, which will allow Russia to export over one trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year".
By the way, yesterday, at least one Turkish citizen voted for Putin. Here's a photo of a ballot from a polling station in the resort city of Antalya, which hosted a record number of Russian tourists this year.
Andrei Grigoriev, Renat Gareev, Aytach Dzharchieva, Vesti, Turkey.