Erdogan phones Putin to congratulate him on election win - Kremlin

MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on winning the election during a telephone call initiated by Turkey, the Kremlin's press service said.

"The Turkish leader warmly congratulated Vladimir Putin on his convincing victory in the election of the president of the Russian Federation and wished him new successes in public service for the good of the Russian people," the service said in a statement on Monday evening.

"The two sides expressed their determination to continue interacting closely in the interests of developing the wide-ranging Russian-Turkish relationship. [They] discussed bolstering international stability and security, including Black Sea regional issues," the statement said.

For his part, Putin congratulated Erdogan and all Turkish Muslims on the holy month of Ramadan, it said.

The two leaders agreed to continue their dialogue in various formats, it said.