Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu

Turkish foreign minister on April 4 said the government authorized the transfer of ventilators to Spain, and dismissed reports claiming that the Turkish administration sought to confiscate medical equipment amid COVID-19 outbreak.

Turkey's youth and sports minister said on April 4 that 15,756 people who arrived in the country from abroad have been quarantined in 78 dormitories across 51 provinces.

Some 124 Turkish citizens living abroad have died due to COVID-19, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.

Çavuşoğlu's remarks came after attending a NATO foreign ministers' meeting.

He said more than 20,000 citizens in total have been brought back to Turkey from 50 countries.

NATO's political dimension should be strengthened, and a group of 10 experts has been formed for this purpose, Turkey's foreign minister said on April 2. 

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu made the remarks after attending a NATO foreign ministers meeting, noting the group includes Turkey's Ambassador Tacan İldem, who has been working as NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Public Diplomacy.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias has accused Turkey of undermining the values of the NATO alliance after his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated claims that Greek forces had killed migrants seeking to cross the countries' shared border, Kathimerini understands.

The exchange took place during a teleconference of NATO foreign ministers on Thursday.

Some 98 Turkish citizens living abroad have died due to COVID-19, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.

"We have evacuated over 20,000 Turkish citizens from more than 50 countries," he told state broadcaster TRT World.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that Turkey is sending aid to Italy and Spain, Europe's most hard-hit countries, during their fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Serbia on March 25 evacuated 148 Turkish nationals stranded in the country due to the measures taken to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.

An aircraft from the national carrier Air Serbia, arranged by Serbian officials transported the Turkish citizens from Nikola Tesla Airport in the capital Belgrade to Istanbul free of charge.

An international fund under the auspices of the G-20 should be initiated to ensure an adequate and coordinated global action against the coronavirus, the Turkish foreign minister has said, a day before G-20 leaders are set to hold a videoconference to discuss what can be done in the fight against the fatal pandemic.

Turkey evacuated more than 2,000 students from Europe, Egypt, and Turkish Cyprus as of March 25 after flights were suspended due to the novel coronavirus