Azerbaijani, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus presidents hold phone talk

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar congratulated in a phone call on Tuesday his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev over victory in the recent snap parliamentary election.

"Ersin Tatar extended his congratulations on the landslide victory of the New Azerbaijan Party in the snap parliamentary elections. He noted that the elections were conducted in a free, democratic, and open environment, reflecting the will of the Azerbaijani people," the Azerbaijani presidential press service said in a statement.

Tatar highlighted the establishment of a friendship group with the TRNC in the Azerbaijani parliament, expressing confidence that the bilateral cooperation in this format would continue successfully.

"Fondly recalling his country's invitation to the Shusha Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, Ersin Tatar expressed his gratitude to the Azerbaijani President for the support provided to the development of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ relations with the organization, as well as for the invitation," the statement read.

Aliyev, for his part, thanked Tatar for the congratulations and pledged Azerbaijan's support to the development of relations and the expansion of cooperation between the TRNC and Organization of Turkic States.

Aliyev's party secured 68 seats out of 125 in the parliament, according to initial results of Sunday elections.