Azerbaijan, Uzbek leaders congratulate Erdoğan over Turkish vote
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shakes hands with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev (R) in the capital Ankara, Türkiye, March 15, 2023. (AA Photo)


Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev extended congratulations to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over his election success.

The two leaders placed separate phone calls to Erdoğan on Monday, expressing wishes that the election outcome would be beneficial for the Turkish nation.

Aliyev told Erdoğan that Türkiye has made "tremendous progress under the leadership of Erdogan," the Azerbaijani Presidency said in a statement.

"As a manifestation of this, the brotherly Turkish people have also shown trust in their leader in these elections," the statement added. Erdoğan thanked Aliyev for his attention and wishes. The leaders also underlined that "friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries are eternal and unbreakable."

Erdoğan secured over 49% of the vote according to initial unofficial results, far ahead of his main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who has so far secured around 44% of the vote.

Türkiye, which already enjoys good relations with the Turkic world, improved ties further under the leadership of Erdoğan. The country recently held the chairpersonship of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).

Reaction from abroad trickled in on Monday in the aftermath of the elections. The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia expects cooperation with Türkiye to continue, deepen, and expand after the elections.

"Of course, we are watching the news coming from Türkiye these days with great interest and attention. We respect and will treat the choice of the Turkish people. But in any case, we expect our cooperation to continue, deepen, and expand," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists in a press briefing.

Peskov said cooperation between Moscow and Ankara is mutually beneficial and meets the interests of the peoples of the two countries, adding that Türkiye is able to ensure "transparent elections" and "prevent illegal actions" from taking place.

Late Saturday, Peskov told the Russian state news agency TASS that Moscow "categorically rejected" accusations of interference in the Turkish elections, saying this is "out of the question." On Thursday, Kılıçdaroğlu accused Russia of being behind video content allegedly discrediting candidates for the presidency.

On Friday, Peskov said there can be no question of any interference of Russia in the Turkish elections, and that "those who spread such rumors are liars."

EU officials Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel also congratulated Turkish voters on their large turnout in the elections, hailing this as a win for democracy.

"It's a very clear sign that the Turkish people are committed to exercising their democratic rights to go and vote and that they value the democratic institutions," von der Leyen said.

The bloc announced they would be "watching the elections closely as Türkiye was a key partner of the bloc."

"Türkiye is a key partner for the European Union in many different aspects, and we are following the electoral cycle in the country and the upcoming vote very closely," Peter Stano, the lead spokesperson on foreign policy, said at the European Commission's daily news briefing before the elections.

Turkish officials earlier expressed concerns about prejudice and the pro-PKK stance of some EU lawmakers, picked to observe the elections on behalf of the Council of Europe.