Top Turkish, US diplomats discuss cooperation amid COVID-19

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone with Turkey's foreign minister on May 18 on cooperation between Washington and Ankara against the coronavirus pandemic.

'Pleasure speaking with Turkish Foreign Minister @MevlutCavusoglutoday about U.S.-Turkey cooperation to counter COVID-19,' Pompeo tweeted.

"We will continue to bring Turkish and U.S. citizens to their home countries, cooperating on supply chain issues and @NATO Alliance efforts," he wrote.

The phone conversation came days after Turkey sent two planes of medical gear to help the U.S. combat the disease and the latest flights to repatriate their citizens.

'Turkey helped 81 countries amid coronavirus outbreak'

Meanwhile, a total of 135 countries sought assistance from Turkey as coronavirus rapidly spread around the globe, Çavuşoğlu said on May 18. 

Turkish authorities dispatched aid and medical equipment to 81 countries, he said in a live broadcast.

He added they were working to assist the remaining countries.

"Nothing will be the same," he said, referring to the post-virus period. "Turkey will be one of the key countries both [in the sense of] globalization and regionalization."

Çavuşoğlu said the virus claimed the lives of 535 expats, and the bodies of 438 were brought home for burial.

Moreover, an upward of 70,000 Turkish citizens were evacuated from 115 countries amid the pandemic.

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