President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's defeat in the French election as a "win", saying that the world suffered because of extremism, local media reported on Saturday.
Le Pen, 53, failed to unseat President Emmanuel Macron last weekend but achieved a historic score of 41.5 percent. Erdoğan hailed the election result.
"To put it correctly, the elimination and defeat of extremist ends in French elections is, in my opinion, a win because whatever we suffer is because of extremism," Erdoğan was quoted as saying by Hurriyet daily and several other media outlets, in comments to journalists on his plane back from Saudi Arabia.
Erdoğan said he had hoped Macron would win and praised the French president for leading a "very smart" election strategy, especially during the debate.
"God willing, with the result of this election, our relations will be in a much better position," he added.
