Turkey's general elections concluded with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leading the results of the parliamentary elections. At the presidential level it ended in a run-off after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan led by 49.51% compared to 44.88% for his rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The exclusion of third candidate Sinan Ogan, who won 5.17% of the vote in an unexpected result, will be influential in the outcome of the next round.
In July, US President Joe Biden and his team set the scene for a four-day visit to the Middle East. The trip, they said, was designed to galvanize support for the US-led Western policy towards Russia’s war in Ukraine and help ease energy prices that are crippling consumers worldwide.