Moscow on new Turkish parliament and government

Moscow "respects the results of the declaration of will of the Turkish people at the democratic elections on November 3rd, 2002." Moscow hopes that "the new leaders of the parliament and government of Turkey will stick to the course for developing constructive, neighbourly interaction with Russia, in order to bring our bilateral relations to the level of multidimensional partnership," reads the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry's information and press department.

The elections were won by the Islamic Justice and Development Party, which, according to preliminary information, may receive more than 360 seats in the 550-member parliament. This will allow the Party to form a one-party government.

The country's oldest Republican People's Party, which intends to take the opposition benches, will receive about 180 seats.

The Democratic Left Party, led by ex-prime minister of Turkey Bulent Ecevit, and its partners in the government coalition have not been able to pass the 10-percent barrier.