Armenia will evacuate its citizens from Turkey across Georgia
09.04.2020,
19:02
"Armenia is taking all possible measures to ensure the return of its citizens to their homeland, and the priority is mainly given to evacuating those of our citizens who have appeared in difficult conditions in countries where the coronavirus pandemic has reached large proportions," Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan said.
YEREVAN, April 9. /ARКА/. "Armenia is taking all possible measures to ensure the return of its citizens to their homeland, and the priority is mainly given to evacuating those of our citizens who have appeared in difficult conditions in countries where the coronavirus pandemic has reached large proportions," Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan said in comments on the organization of evacuation of Armenian citizens to their homeland from Turkey with which Armenia has no diplomatic relations and the border between the countries was closed by Turkey in 1993.
Naghdalyan said some 100 citizens of Armenia residing in Turkey got in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to her, the ministry will finance the transportation of 70 Armenian citizens to their homeland through Georgia.
She said upon their arrival in Armenia, they will be placed under 14-day quarantine. The transportation has been agreed with the relevant services of Georgia and Turkey, whose assistance is valuable, the spokeswoman said.
Anna Naghdalyan declined to comment on news reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed readiness to assist Armenia in the form of medicines in the fight against COVID-19. Erdogan was said to have expressed the desire in a telephone conversation with the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, Bishop Sahak Mashalyan.
"We are familiar with the press release about the telephone conversation between the Turkish president and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. As a third party, we will refrain from commenting on unofficial information. In all cases, this issue is not on the agenda," she said.
Turkey closed the border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. In 2009, Armenia and Turkey signed Protocols for normalizing relations between the two countries, but neither country ratified the Protocols, and Armenia officially withdrew from the Protocols in March 2018.
Armenian declared a 30-day state of emergency on March 16 to contain the spread of coronavirus. A week later it imposed stringent restrictions on free movement of people and banned also some types of economic activity until April 12 inclusive.
As of April 9, some 921 confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported in the country, some 138 patients were said to have recovered and ten people died. -0-
Naghdalyan said some 100 citizens of Armenia residing in Turkey got in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to her, the ministry will finance the transportation of 70 Armenian citizens to their homeland through Georgia.
She said upon their arrival in Armenia, they will be placed under 14-day quarantine. The transportation has been agreed with the relevant services of Georgia and Turkey, whose assistance is valuable, the spokeswoman said.
Anna Naghdalyan declined to comment on news reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed readiness to assist Armenia in the form of medicines in the fight against COVID-19. Erdogan was said to have expressed the desire in a telephone conversation with the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, Bishop Sahak Mashalyan.
"We are familiar with the press release about the telephone conversation between the Turkish president and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. As a third party, we will refrain from commenting on unofficial information. In all cases, this issue is not on the agenda," she said.
Turkey closed the border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. In 2009, Armenia and Turkey signed Protocols for normalizing relations between the two countries, but neither country ratified the Protocols, and Armenia officially withdrew from the Protocols in March 2018.
Armenian declared a 30-day state of emergency on March 16 to contain the spread of coronavirus. A week later it imposed stringent restrictions on free movement of people and banned also some types of economic activity until April 12 inclusive.
As of April 9, some 921 confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported in the country, some 138 patients were said to have recovered and ten people died. -0-
