Visit of Turkish parliament’s speaker to Ukraine postponed due to army helicopter crash
Ukrinform reported this with reference to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency.
"Speaker of the Grand National Assembly Mustafa Şentop postponed his official visit to Ukraine due to the crash of an army helicopter in Tatvan district of Bitlis province, which killed 11 military personnel," the statement reads. Şentop will attend the funeral of the fallen soldiers.
The official visit to Ukraine will be postponed to another date.
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov, at whose invitation Şentop was supposed to come to Ukraine, expressed his condolences over the death of the military.
President Volodymyr Zelensky also expressed his condolences over the tragedy.
“Deepest condolences to the people of Turkey for the loss of military personnel as a result of a helicopter crash in Bitlis province. We wish the relatives of those who lost their loved ones strength, and rapid recovery to the wounded,” the president tweeted.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba also extended his condolences. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu thanked him for his words of sympathy and condolences, and appreciated Ukraine’s solidarity.
On Thursday, March 4, an army helicopter crashed in eastern Turkey, killing 11 military personnel on board and injuring two others.
As reported, the visit of a Turkish delegation led by Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mustafa Şentop was to take place on March 5-6 at the invitation of Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov. The program of the visit included meetings with the president, the prime minister, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, the foreign minister, and representatives of business and the diaspora.
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