Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first world leaders to congratulate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party following their electoral victory. On June 25, the day after the vote, Putin sent a telegram congratulating Erdogan on his re-election as the president of the Turkish Republic and the victory of the Justice and Development Party in the parliamentary election.

Later that day he called his Turkish counterpart to wish him success in “further state administration.”

“The presidents confirmed their mutual interest in expanding partnership between the two countries and noted as priorities joint strategic energy projects, including the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and the TurkStream pipeline. President Putin and President Erdogan agreed to maintain close cooperation in the Syrian conflict resolution,” said the Kremlin statement.

Much warmer greetings came from Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a Russian politician and leader of the nationalist pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, who back in his academic years majored in Turkish studies and speaks Turkish. He sent a telegram with congratulations to Erdogan. Zhirinovsky believes that the Turkish people “made the right decision.”