Ekrem İmamoğlu

Athens Mayor Haris Doukas met with his Istanbul counterpart Ekrem Imamoglu on Wednesday, during the second day of a visit to the Turkish city, with the two officials vowing closer cooperation.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on April 22 arrived in Istanbul as he embarked on a three-day tour to Türkiye, marking his first visit to the country in his seven-year duty as the head of the state.

Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, German Ambassador to Ankara Jürgen Schulz and Turkish Ambassador to Berlin Ahmet Başar Şen welcomed Steinmeier at Istanbul Airport.

The number of suspects detained has risen to nine in the wake of a major fire in Istanbul that claimed the lives of 29 individuals, with revelations surfacing about unauthorized renovations leading to the disaster.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's first defeat in local elections on Sunday will not have an impact on Turkey's foreign policy, according to the regional director of the Turkish branch of the think tank The German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Turkey is entering a most interesting time. Its president and the re-elected mayor of Istanbul were both right in describing Sunday's election as a victory for democracy - this was the definition of democracy, as the side that did not hold all the levers of power won.

Less than a year after securing another term, Turkish President Erdogan's Justice and Development Party suffered its worst defeat in its 22-year history in Sunday's municipal elections.

All eyes were on Istanbul, where Ekrem Imamoglu easily won reelection and is increasingly cementing his place as Erdogan's political challenger.

"Today is truly a historic day for Turkey, a rare day of hope for our democracy and a new day for our country's political scene," 29-year-old Can Bucak tells Kathimerini English Edition in the aftermath of Sunday's local elections, his voice slightly cracking but still beaming with enthusiasm.

President Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Monday to correct any mistakes that led to his party's defeat in Turkey's local elections where the opposition capitalised on economic woes and alienated Islamist voters, casting uncertainty over his reform plans.

Newly re-elected Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has emerged as the main challenger to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's reign. But in some ways, he is following in the footsteps of the Turkish leader who ran the city in the 1990s.

Athens Mayor Haris Doukas has congratulated his Istanbul counterpart Ekrem Imamoglu on his reelection in Turkey's local elections Sunday.