Vice President Fuat Oktay will be in Caracas representing Turkey at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's swearing-in ceremony to be held on Jan. 10, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his Venezuelan counterpart in a phone call late Monday, adding that he will not be able to attend due to busy schedule.
The two leaders discussed bilateral relations in the call, reiterating their willingness to advance cooperation between the countries.
Erdoğan also told Maduro that Turkey gives great attention to the prosperity, stability and peace in the Latin American country.
Maduro won a second term in office in May.
The 55-year-old won some 5.8 million votes, or 68 percent of the total, while main opposition candidate Henri Falcon won 1.8 million votes or 21.2 percent.
Turnout was around 46 percent — the lowest in a presidential race in two decades of revolution. About 20.5 million people were eligible to vote, but many analysts predicted a low turnout after the opposition alliance Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) called on voters to boycott the poll.
