President Erdoğan congratulates Macron on election win

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on May 5 congratulated his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on his re-election, and emphasized the importance of ties between Ankara and Paris for Europe.

The phone call marked the first interaction between the two leaders since Macron was re-elected on April 24, fending off a serious challenge from his rival Marine Le Pen.

The two leaders discussed "steps to improve Turkish-French relations" as well as the Russia-Ukraine war, the Turkish presidency said.

Erdoğan said Ankara was doing its best to resolve the conflict through diplomacy, it added.

He also told Macron that Turkish-French relations were important for Europe's global role, according to the presidency.

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