BOLU, Turkey, Apr 12 Turkish presidential candidate Muharrem Ince said in an interview that he intends to build strong and trust-based relations with the Russian Federation if he comes to power.
«We want good relations with the Russian Federation — this is one of our most important neighbors,» Ince said.
He pointed out that a significant part of Turkey's foreign trade is carried out with Russia, there are ties between the countries in the fields of tourism and energy resources.
«We would like to build even stronger, better and more trusting relations with Russia, so that they are not limited to contacts between governments,» Ince said.
He participated in the 2018 presidential election as a candidate for the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and received over 30% of the vote, but later split from the CHP and created his own Memleket party. Ince managed to collect more than 100 thousand signatures of voters to register his candidacy. According to the results of various polls, at the moment, at least 8-10% of voters are ready to vote for Ince.
The presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey are scheduled for May 14. The main opponent of the incumbent President Tayyip Erdogan — the single candidate from the «Republican Alliance» — is the single candidate from the opposition «People's Alliance» Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Also running in the elections are Memleket party leader Muharrem Ince and Ata alliance candidate Sinan Ogan. The second round, if none of the candidates can get more than 50% of the votes, will be held on May 28.