25 June 2018•Update: 26 June 2018
ANKARA
Turkey will boost relations with the Muslim world, the country’s foreign minister said on Monday in the wake of Sunday’s elections.
Addressing Muslim opinion leaders from the U.S. in the capital Ankara, Mevlut Cavusoglu said: “We will also strengthen our relations with our Muslim brothers and sisters and our brotherly nations.”
Turkey on Sunday went to the polls for parliamentary and presidential elections.
Describing the election atmosphere in Turkey as "very interactive and active", Cavusoglu said: “This shows Turkey is very engaged with democracy.”
According to the latest data from the Supreme Election Council, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won an absolute majority in the presidential election with 52.5 percent of the vote, while his top rival Muharrem Ince had 30.6 percent of the vote, with 99.2 percent of ballot boxes opened.
“Our responsibility is not only limited to Turkey, we have been shouldering the responsibility for the last 16 years, with all the oppressed and all the Muslim people; we actually embrace them,” he said.
The minister emphasized that Turkey will take quick actions to satisfy the needs of the oppressed.
“The more growth we will have, the stronger economy we will have, the better support we will provide for the oppressed people all around the world,” he said.
He noted that Turkey will have a stronger government, stronger assembly and stronger institutions.
“We will take quick actions, quick steps so that we can show our competitiveness to the rest of the world,” Cavusoglu said.
Cavusoglu also said action was required against the misconception about Islam, which is a “serious trend” in the world.
“This is a very concerning thing for us and it is not just because we are thinking about ourselves as Muslims but we have to think of where the world is going and the future,” he said.
"Especially in our Jerusalem cause, we have to own that cause," he added.
On June 13, the Turkish and Algerian-sponsored resolution urging for the protections of the Palestinian people passed in the General Assembly with 120-8 votes. In all, 45 countries abstained.
The Palestinian territories have remained tense since last December, when U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
