US president calls Turkish PM, congratulates on election

ANKARA

U.S. President Barack Obama has congratulated Turkey’s Prime Minister and Justice and Development (AK) Party Chairman Ahmet Davutoglu on his party’s election victory, the Turkish Prime Minister’s Office said Tuesday.

According to the office, Obama made the remarks in a phone call to Davutoglu.

The Turkish premier thanked Obama and said that the results of the election represented the nation's belief in democracy, the statement added.

According to preliminary results, the AK Party won over 49 percent of the votes in the Nov. 1 snap elections. The party won 317 seats in the 550-member Turkish parliament

The Republican People's Party (CHP) came second with 25.3 percent, followed by the Nationalist Movement Party at 11.9 percent and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at 10.7 percent.

The Nov. 1 snap polls were called following an inconclusive general election on June 7, which saw no party win an outright majority. Months of subsequent talks between parties failed to produce a coalition.

During the phone call, the two leaders also discussed strategies to fight Daesh. Obama expressed his willingness to increase his cooperation with Turkey to resolve the regional crises.

Turkey’s neighbor Syria has been gripped by a five-year civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced millions of others, after a peaceful protest turned violent in March 2011.