Ilgın Karlıdağ
November 03, 2015•Update: November 05, 2015
BRUSSELS
European Council President Donald Tusk has congratulated Turkey’s Prime Minister and Justice and Development (AK) Party Chairman Ahmet Davutoglu on his party’s election victory.
Tusk said in a letter to Davutoglu on Tuesday said, "the high voter turnout is testament to the active participation of the Turkish population in the country's democratic life."
Turkey’s Justice and Development (AK) Party secured 49.48 percent of the votes, a higher proportion than any of the predictions by opinion polls.
Faced with the worst migrant crisis since World War II, the EU is in the process of negotiating with Turkey on a refugee action plan, under which the 28-nation-bloc has offered Turkey funding to reduce the flow of asylum seekers coming into Europe in exchange for easier visa travel rules for Turkish citizens seeking to visit Europe.
"I [Tusk] am looking forward to meeting you [Davutoglu] again soon to continue our important discussions on how to advance our cooperation with regard to the current, urgent refugee and migration crises, as well as the further development of our strong and broad bilateral relations, including the important accession process," Tusk said in the letter.
The European Union has described Turkey’s elections as "a strong commitment of the Turkish people to democratic processes".
In a joint statement made on Monday after preliminary election results were announced in Turkey Sunday, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn said in a joint statement: "The EU will work together with the future government in order to further enhance the EU-Turkey partnership and to continue to advance our cooperation across all areas for the benefit of all citizens".
