Turkish president congratulates Greek premier-elect

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet and Sefa Mutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday congratulated Greece’s prime minister-elect Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the phone, according to Turkish presidential sources.

Erdogan wished that the results will contribute to the relations between the two countries and to the regional prosperity, the sources said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

Greece on Sunday held snap elections to choose a new government and parliament after current Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras requested the dissolution of parliament and snap polls following his left-wing Syriza party’s poor performance in May's European elections.

According to first unofficial results, main opposition New Democracy party is leading in Sunday's snap general elections and Mitsotakis is likely to form a government alone.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also congratulated Mitsotakis on Twitter.

"Warmly congratulate New Democracy leader Kriakos Mitsotakis for the electoral victory. Confident that Turkish-Greek friendship & bilateral relations will further strengthen during his leadership," Cavusoglu said.