Politics by country

Türkiye has told Iran that it does not want further escalation in the region following Tehran's attack against Israel late on April 13.

According to diplomatic sources, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on the phone on April 14.

Türkiye's top election watchdog has dismissed the Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP) bid to annul the recent local elections in the Aegean province of Kütahya, prompting calls for electronic voting in the country.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has issued a call to the global community to condemn the Israeli bombardment of hospitals, schools, mosques and churches in the besieged Gaza Strip.

"Humanity must prevent further violations of international law in Gaza," Erdoğan said in a letter to Pope Francis on April 13, emphasizing that civilians should never be targeted in times of war.

Senior Turkish and American officials will meet in the Turkish capital to discuss joint efforts to improve bilateral ties and discuss regional issues, including the situation in Gaza and Russia's occupation of Ukraine.

Under Secretary of State Department John Bass will be in Ankara on April 15 and 16, the State Department has announced.

Since President Erdogan agreed in principle to enlargement at the NATO summit in Vilnius last July, we have witnessed a political back-and-forth on the Swedish issue reminiscent of the hustle and bustle of an oriental bazaar. 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has expressed his gratitude to Türkiye for its assistance, as Greece, which is experiencing stifling temperatures due to an extended hot-weather spell, struggles to control the flames burning for nearly a week.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou is expected to present Kyriakos Mitsotakis with the formal mandate to form a government on Monday morning after his New Democracy party's resounding victory on Sunday night.

Mitsotakis is expected at the Presidential Palace in central Athens at 11 a.m. and will be sworn in as prime minister for his second term in office at 1 p.m.

SYRIZA chief Alexis Tsipras refuted speculation that he may step down from the helm of the main opposition after suffering a second defeat in Sunday's ballot. 

"I will be judged the members of the party," Tsipras said in comments at SYRIZA headquarters in downtown Athens, indicating that a congress will be called within the next few months to decide on the leftists' fate.

Polls in Greece closed at 7 p.m. on Sunday, and the exit polls show New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative New Democracy defeating Alexis Tsipras' leftist SYRIZA party and securing an outright majority in Parliament. Stay with our live blog for the most up-to-date news and developments as results come in.

• 9,813,595 million Greek citizens are eligible to vote in the elections; Greeks living abroad have already cast their votes.
• Running for office are 32 parties, four coalitions of parties and two individuals standing as independents.