Turkey\'s EU minister congratulates Merkel\'s triumph

Turkey\'s Minister for European Union Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis hailed German Chancellor Angela Merkel\'s triumph in Sunday\'s votes, saying \"her success is praiseworthy\". Merkel\'s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) party secured a third straight term getting 41.5% of the votes. Bagis said Merkel was the most successful politician of Sunday\'s federal elections. \"Merkel has won the elections for the third time by increasing her votes,\"said Bagis. \" Her success is praiseworthy in terms of democratic standards. I hope her triumph will be beneficial for herself, her county and Turkish community in Germany\". He expressed hope that Merkel\'s triumph will be a new start for Turkey-EU relations. Bagis also said Turkish people in Germany went to polls and showed that they were an important political actor in Germany. \"I believe Merkel will take necessary steps to improve bilateral relations and make them turn into a privileged partnership,\" he added.