Erdoğan congratulates newly-inaugurated Iraqi president

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday congratulated his newly-inaugurated Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih, a Turkish presidential source said.

In a telephone conversation, the two leaders expressed their determination to strengthen bilateral relations, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Iraq's parliament elected Salih as the new president on Tuesday following a second round of voting. Salih received 219 votes from 272 parliament members winning a clear majority.

Salih served as the prime minister of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) between 2009 till 2011. He was also the deputy prime minister of Iraq under Ayad Allawi, who became prime minister after the fall of Saddam Hussein.