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Putin congratulates Merkel on German election result

Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc won the elections on September 24

© AP Photo/Matthias Schrader

MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has phoned German Chancellor Angela Merkel to congratulate her upon the success of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union in the parliamentary elections and expressed the readiness for further cooperation between the two countries.

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Merkel wins Bundestag elections

"In a telephone conversation Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Germany’s Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel upon the success of the CDU/CSU bloc in the September 24 parliamentary elections," the Kremlin’s press-service said. "The readiness was confirmed to continue business-like and mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and Germany."

According to official early returns Merkel’s CDU/CSU placed first in the parliamentary elections to have collected 33% of the votes. The Social-Democratic Party was second with 20.5% of the votes. The right-of-center Alternative for Germany was supported by 12.6% of those who cast their ballots, Germany’s Free Democratic Party, by 10.7, the Left, by 9.2% and the Greens, by 8.9%.

Merkel has retained her control of the Cabinet for a fourth term running, but she has no majority in parliament, which requires creating a coalition government.

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