Iran Welcomes Results of Elections in Kyrgyzstan, Austria

"The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the results of the presidential election in Kyrgyzstan and is ready to further expand relations with the country," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Monday.

Sooronbai Jeenbekov, a former Kyrgyz prime minister backed by incumbent Almazbek Atambayev, won outright, confounding predictions of a tight race.

His main rival Omurbek Babanov got just over a third of the vote.

Qassemi also expressed pleasure in the result of the parliamentary elections in Austria and the victory of People's Party, headed by current Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, and said Mr. Kurz played an important role as the host of nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers.

"We hope that relations between the two countries will witness growth and progress in the new era and under his leadership," he said.

Austria's 31-year-old foreign minister declared victory for his party Sunday in a national election that set him up to become Europe's youngest leader and puts the country on course for a rightward turn.

Kurz claimed the win as final results announced by the Interior Ministry showed his People's Party had a comfortable lead with almost all the ballots counted.