Turkey’s Erdoğan congratulates Biden on election win

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday, expressing Turkey’s determination to work closely with the new administration.

“I believe that the strong cooperation and the bond of alliance between our countries will continue to make vital contributions to world peace in the future, as it has done so far,” Erdogan said in his congratulatory message, made available by his office.

Turkey was one of a handful of countries, along with Russia, that had not commented on Biden’s victory since he was declared the winner of the U.S. presidential election on Saturday.

A senior Turkish official said Monday that Ankara would wait until legal challenges to the U.S. election results were resolved and for the outcome to be finalised. It was not clear what made Erdogan change his mind.

Separately, Erdogan also sent a message to President Donald Trump thanking him for his “sincere and determined vision” for expanding the ties between the U.S. and Turkey during his four years in office. In his message, Erdogan also thanked Trump for his “warm friendship.”