President of Russia Vladimir Putin congratulated Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who declared himself the winner of the second round of the presidential elections.

“Victory in the elections was a natural result of your selfless work as the head of the Republic of Turkey, clear evidence of the Turkish people’s support for your efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy,” Putin said in his speech. his congratulations to Erdogan, the Kremlin said.

“We highly appreciate your personal contribution to strengthening friendly Russian-Turkish relations and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields,” the President of Russia noted.