Why Erdogan's victory matters for the West | BBC News |

You can spot Turkey's global strategic significance - which has starkly increased against the backdrop of the Ukraine war - by the A-list potpourri of world leaders who rushed to congratulate Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his election win on Sunday night.

First out of the box was Russian President Vladimir Putin. [False - close allies Muslim Brotherhood, neighboring states and Central Asian countries with Turkic people]

He was so keen to stroke the ego of his Turkish counterpart and fellow "strongman" leader that he didn't even wait for the official results of the vote before singling out Mr Erdogan's "independent foreign policy" as a reason for his victory.

Trade between Turkey and Russia even increased significantly since the start of the war in Ukraine.

But also hot on Mr Putin's congratulatory heels on Sunday were US President Joe Biden [again false] and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.