KIEV 

Ukraine’s president awarded the head of Turkish arms maker Baykar Technologies with a state medal Tuesday at the Presidential Palace in Kiev. 

Volodymyr Zelenskiy awarded Haluk Bayraktar, Baykar’s CEO, for his services to Ukraine and Ukraine-Turkey relations. 

“The point we have reached is the clearest indicator of the growing relations between the two friendly countries. Turkey, always one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Ukraine, gave importance to relations between the two countries,” Bayraktar told Anadolu Agency.

“I am honored to be deemed worthy of outstanding service by the Ukrainian government. I would like to express that I am very proud to receive this medal. I will continue to work for Turkey and Ukraine to increase cooperation in all the fields and to ensure this cooperation is beneficial at the highest level,” he added.

*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur