ADDS STATEMENTS FROM NATO, VENEZUELA, SUDAN AND LIBYA
ISTANBUL (AA) – World leaders continued on Tuesday to congratulate Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his reelection as Türkiye’s president following Sunday’s vote.
In a phone call, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg congratulated the Turkish leader for his electoral victory, a statement by Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said, adding that the two men also discussed regional and global developments.
Earlier Stoltenberg said on Twitter: “We discussed key issues for the upcoming #NATOSummit in Vilnius, continued support for #Ukraine, strengthening our deterrence & defence & finalising Sweden’s accession to NATO.”
Sweden passed an anti-terror law in November, hoping that Ankara would approve Stockholm’s bid to join NATO. The new law, which goes into force on June 1, will allow authorities to prosecute individuals who support terrorist groups.
Separately, Senegal’s President Macky Sall congratulated Erdogan on his reassuming the presidential post over the phone.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati also phoned Erdogan to congratulate him on Sunday’s election victory.
In another phone call, President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou N’Guesso congratulated Erdogan on his reelection win.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Albanian President Edi Rama and Khaled Al-Mishri, the head of Libya’s High Council of State, also spoke with Erdogan over the phone to extend their congratulations.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the chairman of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, also spoke with Erdogan to convey their congratulations.
All leaders expressed their wishes for the election results to serve the benefit of the Turkish people.
On Sunday, Türkiye went to the polls for a presidential runoff election after no candidate secured over 50% needed for an outright victory in the first round on May 14.
Erdogan won the race with more than 52% of the vote, while opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu got over 47%, according to the unofficial results.