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Turkey thanks Azerbaijan for help amid wildfires

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked Azerbaijan for supporting Turkey in the fight against the wildfires that have swept across the country.

“On behalf of my country, I express my gratitude to my dear friend, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for the support from the very first days,” the Turkish president wrote on his Twitter account on August 3.

Moreover, Erdogan expressed his gratitude to all countries and organizations that supported Turkey in extinguishing forest fires.

Furthermore, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Chavushoglu thanked Azerbaijan for sending a helicopter to extinguish forest fires.

“I express my gratitude to Azerbaijan for the equipment and personnel involved in fire fighting operations”, Chavushoglu said in an interview with local journalists.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan has sent groups of firefighters and its fire-fighter equipment and personnel to support Turkey in extinguishing massive forest fires across the country.

The first group consisted of 100 firefighters who arrived in Turkey’s Mugla province.

Another team of firefighters and rescuers was sent to the fraternal country on July 31 night.

On August 2, senior officials of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) headed by Deputy Minister Etibar Mirzayev arrived in Turkey to discuss the fire-fighting measures with Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Mehmet Ersoy at the Crisis Management Center.

The sides discussed the details of the fire-fighting operations. Mirzayev provided detailed information about the Azerbaijani fire-fighting groups and their capabilities that arrived in Turkey.

Welcoming the Azerbaijani delegation, Ersoy expressed gratitude to the fraternal people of Azerbaijan for the provided assistance and support.

At least eight people have died in wildfires in Turkey’s southeastern regions.

The wildfires broke out on 28 July near the Mediterranean coastal resort town of Manavgat, in Antalya province and spread to other regions across Turkey.

By Vugar Khalilov

About Fidan Abdullayeva