Turkey’s Erdogan hails Bush’s re-election

Ties between NATO-allies and strategic partners Turkey and the U.S. became strained when Turkish Parliament rejected to send troops to Iraq after the country’s invasion by U.S.-led coalition forces in March last year.

Relations between Ankara and Washington has gradually improved since then. But Turkey’s demands for U.S. action concerning the security of Turkish truck drivers and workers who frequently come under attack by the insurgents in Iraq, on the dispute over the ownership of oil-rich Kirkuk with Iraqi Kurdish groups and on the removal of outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases in the mountains of northern Iraq remain as potential problems between the two sides.

Erdogan pointed out that only a single candidate wins the race in the presidential system and the loser congratulating the winner sets a fine example for democracy, said NTV news channel.

Erdogan was referring to a Wednesday phone call by Democrat candidate John Kerry to Republican Bush in which Kerry conceded to Bush’s victory and congratlated him.

Bush begins his second term with the daunting challenges of a worsening insurgency in Iraq and soaring federal budget deficits.

He beat Kerry by a mere three million votes.