AP Photograph/Alex Brandon, File

Former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner, Donald Trump, congratulated Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday after he declared victory in Turkey’s presidential election.

Erdogan, who has been in power because 2002, gained a run-off election over Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who received 47.9 % of the vote to Erdogan’s 52.1 %, in the now deeply divided usa. Kilicdaroglu slammed the election as “the most unfair election in years” but didn’t pursue a problem to the implications.

Reuters referred to as the result for Erdogan “a mandate to pursue an increasing number of authoritarian policies which have polarised Turkey and reinforced its place as a regional defense force power.” Following a failed coup try in 2016, Erdogan purged civil society of tens of thousands of critics, with arrests and the seizure of belongings, and shut down media viewed as oppositional to his govt.

Trump praised the outcome on his Reality Social platform, writing, “Congratulations to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his giant and well-deserved victory in Turkey. I do know him neatly, he’s a pal, and have learned firsthand how so much he loves his Usa and the great people of Turkey, which he has lifted to a new stage of prominence and appreciate!”

Russia’s Vladimir Putin additionally congratulated his “expensive good friend” Erdogan, saying, “The election victory was a natural result of your selfless work as the top of the Republic of Turkey, clear evidence of the reinforce of the Turkish folks to your efforts to give a boost to state sovereignty and habits an unbiased foreign coverage.”

The Kremlin additionally mentioned Putin informed Erodgan, “We highly have fun with your own contribution to the strengthening of pleasant Russian-Turkish relations and together a good idea cooperation in quite a lot of areas.”

Erdogan confronted a tough this problem this yr as his financial policies have led to a price-of-dwelling obstacle in the us of a and noticed the lira hit file lows remaining week.

President Joe Biden additionally congratulated Erdogan, even supposing offering a much more muted remark. Biden said, “I sit up for continuing to work together as NATO Allies on bilateral considerations and shared world challenges.”

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