Erdogan congratulates Putin on election victory

(Patria) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on his re-election and once again offered mediation regarding Ukraine, reports Hina.

"In a phone call, President Erdogan assessed that the positive development of relations between Turkey and Russia will continue and said that Turkey is ready to help bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table," Erdogan's office announced.

The Turkish head of state, who has carefully maintained relations with both Kyiv and Moscow since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, has on several occasions offered his services to resolve the conflict through negotiations between the two countries.

He received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul at the beginning of the month and prepared for Putin's arrival on February 9, before the latter canceled the visit.

Putin, in power for almost a quarter of a century, won 87.28 percent of the vote in the elections held from Friday to Sunday. The Kremlin assessed this result as "extraordinary," while the opposition in exile said it had "no connection to reality."

Friends and allies of the Russian president rushed to congratulate him on his election victory, but Western leaders condemned what they called illegal elections.