Russia is keeping a close eye on what is going on these days in Turkey, where the presidential and parliamentary elections were held the day before, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
"Of course, we are watching the news coming from Turkey these days with great interest and attention. We respect and will respect the choice of the Turkish people. But in any case we expect that our cooperation will continue, deepen and expand," the Kremlin spokesman said.
Peskov stressed that cooperation between Moscow and Ankara is truly mutually beneficial and meets the interests of the peoples of the two countries. "We are united with the Republic of Turkey in all fields, including energy, tourism, trade, agriculture, road transport, air transport and so on, by a very wide range of mutually beneficial cooperation. This cooperation is truly mutually beneficial, meaning it meets the interests of both the Turkish people and the people of the Russian Federation," he said.
The Kremlin spokesman was also asked about the risks of a US-organized "Turkish Maidan," which the expert community is talking about. "Turkey is a developed democracy, a strong sovereign country, which, naturally, is capable of holding transparent and democratic elections and preventing any illegal actions, of that we have no doubt," he stressed, referring to how the Kremlin assesses such risks.
On elections in Turkey
The presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Turkey on Sunday. According to the latest updates from the Turkish Central Election Commission, ballot paper processing continues and 99.4% of the ballot boxes are open. Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gained 49.4% of votes in the presidential elections, while the main opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu got 44.96%. After processing 99.99% of the ballots in the parliamentary elections, the People's Alliance led by Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) remains the leader, receiving 321 seats out of 600.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS