MOSCOW, June 25. /TASS/. First Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Vladimir Jabarov has said the victory of incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party at Sunday’s elections was predictable expressing the hope Russia and Turkey will continue to develop relations in the future.
"Russia and Turkey currently have stable relations and good economic ties. The construction of the Turkish Stream [pipeline] continues. Our countries basically see eye to eye on the issue of fighting terrorism in Syria. We hope that relations with our neighbor, with which we are separated by the Black Sea only, will be only improving," Jabarov told TASS on Sunday.
He called Erdogan’s and his party’s victory predictable, since, in his view, the current Turkish president’s influence is very high. "We must give credit to Erdogan. The country has achieved stability under his rule. Military coups used to occur every few years, and the military often interfered in solving certain problems. Erdogan has been able to push the army away from tackling political issues and achieve certain stability," Jabarov said.
"I hope our two countries will continue to develop relations, the more so since Erdogan has never concealed he has great respect for our president and our country. Let’s hope further progress will be very successful for us," the senator added.
Meanwhile, vote counting continues after the early presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey. With 99.9% ballots processed, Erdogan leads the race having garnered 53.6% of the vote. His major rival Muharrem Ince secured 30.8% of the vote. Voter turnout stood at 88.1%. Despite the continuing vote counting, Erdogan has already declared victory in the presidential election.