US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday that the United States will continue to work with Turkey no matter who wins the second round of the presidential election.
Sullivan said during a press conference: “We will continue to work with Turkey on a number of issues, such as the Ukrainian crisis, or regional issues in the Middle East, or Turkey’s role as a US ally in NATO.”
Sullivan added: “We want to continue to see Turkey as a strong democracy. The first round of the presidential election has passed, and we are on the verge of the second round, and we are ready to work with the winner of the election.” be it current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Turkish opposition candidate Kemal Kichedaroglu.”
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Turkey on May 14, and there are three candidates for the presidency: incumbent President Erdogan, 69, the only candidate from the “Republican Alliance”, Kılıçdaroğlu, 74, from the opposition Alliance of Nations, and Sinan Ogan. , 55, from Ancestral Alliance. The fourth candidate, the leader of the Watan Party, Muharrem Ince, withdrew his candidacy three days before the start of the elections.
Erdogan and Davutoglu failed to secure 50% of the vote as the vote count drew to a close amid expectations of a second round in two weeks.
Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council promised to announce preliminary results overnight, with the final results due on May 19 in the Official Gazette.
Source: TASS