By Ayhan Simsek
BERLIN (AA) – NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his victory in Sunday presidential and parliamentary polls.
“I will congratulate President Erdogan on his re-election as president. I will also congratulate the Turkish people with the high-turnout in the elections, ” Stoltenberg told reporters, ahead of a meeting with EU defense ministers in Luxembourg.
He underlined Turkey’s great importance for the 29-member alliance.
“Turkey is a key ally for NATO for many reasons, not least because of its strategic geographic location, bordering Russia in the Black Sea but also Iraq and Syria to the south, ” he said.
“And Turkey has been very important in the fight against Daesh, against terrorism, ” he added.
Erdogan won an absolute majority in the presidential election with 52.5 percent of the vote on Sunday, according to the Supreme Election Council.
In Sunday’s parliamentary polls, the People's Alliance — a coalition of Erdogan's Justice and Development (AK) Party and the Nationalist Movement Party — won 53.6 percent of the vote, with 99.9 percent of the ballot boxes opened.
