Events

MINSK, 15 July (BelTA) – Turkey is thankful to Belarus for its friendship and solidarity, Turkey’s Ambassador to Belarus Kezban Nilvana Darama said at an event held on 15 July to mark two years since the victory of the democratic system during the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

“Two years ago Turkey survived an unprecedented terrorist attack in today’s history. It was a threat to the stability and wellbeing of our country, peace and fraternity. On the call of the president the Turkish people rose up to defend the country’s sovereignty and democracy,” the ambassador said.

The event at the Turkish Embassy in Minsk was also dedicated to the presidential and parliamentary elections held in the country on 24 June 2018. “We conducted the elections with the record-high participation. This time our people, who repulsed the coup attempt and the terrorists, came to polling stations to choose their president and MPs. Turkey once again made its choice toward democracy, the protection of rights and freedoms,” the diplomat stressed.

Kezban Nilvana Darama stressed that Belarus was one of the first countries to condemn the coup attempt and express support for Turkey on the morning of 16 July 2016. One of the first leaders to congratulate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on winning the recent elections was Belarusian head of state Alexander Lukashenko.

“Once again I would like to thank Belarus and the Belarusian people for their faithful friendship and solidarity which they have been demonstrating from the very beginning of our relations to the present day,” the ambassador added.

Chairman of the Council of the Republic’s Standing Committee for International Affairs and National Security, co-Chairman of the Belarusian-Turkish inter-parliamentary group of friendship Sergei Rakhmanov expressed respect and solidarity with the Turkish people and the Turkish authorities not only in the struggle for values, but also for the country’s prosperity, future and successful development. The MP emphasized special close relations with Turkey. “We see the future development of the world almost the same way. Together we stand for the global values ​​that our peoples have developed. We would like our countries to preserve their identity, continue developing and always hold a decent place in the world community,” he said.

Sergei Rakhmanov also took note of Turkey’s achievements, which, despite all the difficulties, continues successfully moving forward, keeps a high pace of development and plays an important role in the region and worldwide. “We are happy to have good parliamentary cooperation with Turkey, and this interaction does not stop. The most important thing is that we have a great level of trust at the level of the heads of state and the leadership of the countries. We trust Turkey. We are ready for serious and deep cooperation in all the areas,” the MP said.