Ukrainian rescuers have returned to Ukraine from Turkey, where they were sent to assist in extinguishing large-scale forest fires, the press service of the State Emergency Service said.
“Two AN-32P aircraft landed at the airfield of the Special Aviation Detachment of the Operational Rescue Service of Civil Protection of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the town of Nizhyn,” the message says.
The head of the Service Mykola Chechotkin congratulated the Ukrainian rescuers on their return, noting that Ukraine is proud of them, and the citizens of Turkey are grateful for their invaluable help.
As reported, on July 30, planes of the State Emergency Service went to Turkey to participate in extinguishing large-scale forest fires in this country.
The fires broke out on July 28 in the tourist province of Antalya and spread to the provinces of Osmaniye, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Adana, Mersin and Mugla. The area of the fires was 1,500 hectares, four people died, about 183 people were injured, more than 100 buildings were damaged.
Next week Turkey is ready to receive a Ukrainian delegation to finalize the technical aspects of the draft agreement on a free trade area (FTA) between the countries, Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Muş said.
“Our delegations have already fruitfully worked on the agreement. And next week we are ready to host a delegation from Ukraine to finalize the technical aspects of the draft agreement,” the press service of the Economy Ministry of Ukraine said, citing Muş, following his videoconference with First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Liubchenko on Monday.
The Turkish minister said the delegations should intensify their work and in the near future submit a draft agreement on an FTA between the two countries.
“We have several positions left where we must find a balance in our trade relations. It should be noted that during the negotiations with our Turkish colleagues we came to constructive and progressive solutions that will allow us to protect domestic markets where necessary and prepare an agreement, which will contribute to the deepening of trade relations and the development of the economies of our countries,” Liubchenko said.
According to the Economy Ministry, the videoconference was held following a phone conversation between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will pay a working visit to the Republic of Turkey on June 18 to June 20, where he will take part in Antalya diplomatic forum, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
“The head of Ukrainian diplomacy will speak at the plenary session of the forum on the subject ‘Energy: What future awaits us?’ And will hold a number of bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Central Europe, the South Caucasus, the Middle East, Africa and Asia,” the Foreign Ministry said.
It also said that Antalya diplomatic forum is being held by Turkey for the first time.
“This forum is intended to become an annual international platform for exchanging views on topical international issues, discussing effective steps of modern diplomacy to respond to global challenges. This forum is attended by more than 40 heads of state, government, foreign ministries, as well as representatives of academia, experts and the media,” Ukrainian diplomats said.
New conditions for entering Turkey in connection with changes in the sanitary and epidemic situation in the country for all foreign citizens will take effect from June 4, 2021, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine reported.
“Now, to cross the Turkish border, tourists must present a negative PCR test, made no more than 72 hours before crossing the border, or a quick antigen test made within the last 48 hours,” the ministry’s press service said.
At the same time, if a passenger traveling to Turkey presents a document issued by the official authorities of the respective country, which indicates that he was vaccinated at least 14 days before arriving in Turkey or that they have recovered from the disease in the last six months, PCR test submission and quarantine compliance are not required.
“This means that the abolition of the need for a PCR test, which was introduced from May 15, 2021, for persons arriving in Turkey by land, air or sea from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Great Britain, Latvia, Luxembourg, Ukraine and Estonia, is temporarily suspended and will operate until June 3, inclusively,” the Ministry of Culture said.
Earlier it was reported that from June 1, Turkey returned the requirement for Ukrainian citizens to enter the country with a negative PCR test.
From June 1, Turkey is renewing the requirement to have a negative PCR test for the entry of Ukrainian citizens, according to the interactive map of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
“From June 1, Turkey returns the requirement to have a negative PCR test for the entry of Ukrainian citizens,” the interactive map of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine says.
Thanks to the signing of the Joint Declaration of Intent on cooperation in respecting the rights and safety of tourists between Ukraine and Turkey, the parties will be able to simplify the border crossing rules for citizens of both states, as well as increase the number of flights between the countries, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said on Sunday.
“This declaration, in particular, makes it possible to simplify border crossing rules for citizens of both states, exchange vaccination systems, increase the number of flights between countries, expand the availability of tourist audio guides in Ukrainian and Turkish, and develop cooperation to attract investment in tourism and resorts,” the Prime Minister said on Facebook.
He recalled that the document was signed by Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko during a meeting with Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
As reported, on April 27, Ukraine and Turkey signed a memorandum on strengthening cooperation in the tourism sector.
