Turkish president condoles with Ukrainian leader over deadly helicopter crash

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday extended his condolences to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy over Wednesday's helicopter crash, which killed 17 people, including the country's interior minister.

In a phone call, Erdogan and Zelenskyy addressed the latest developments in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said in a statement.

Erdogan reiterated that Türkiye is ready to provide "strong diplomatic support" for the establishment of a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine and "facilitate and mediate" it, according to the statement.

The helicopter crash in the Brovary city of Ukraine’s Kyiv region on Wednesday killed at least 17 people, including the Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy, and the state secretary of the Internal Affairs Ministry, according to Ukrainian officials.