PM praises Moldova’s quick condemnation of coup bid

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim Tuesday praised Moldova’s quick expression of firm opposition to the July 15 defeated coup in Turkey, sources said.

Yildirim made the remarks to Andrei Galbur, Moldova’s visiting deputy prime minister and foreign minister, at the Cankaya Palace in Ankara, said Prime Ministry sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media.

Moldova, as Galbur said Monday when meeting Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, was one of the countries that “immediately during the coup attempt expressed our position on firm support for the democratically elected constitutional authorities of Turkey.”

Meeting with Yildirim, Galbur expressed his condolences for all those who lost their lives during the coup attempt as well as last weekend’s Gaziantep attack, said the sources.

A total of 240 people were martyred and nearly 2,200 injured during the coup attempt, which the government blames on followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO) network.

Another 54 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb at a wedding ceremony Saturday in Turkey’s southeastern Gaziantep province.

Galbur also reiterated that Moldova stands by Turkey’s democratically elected officials and is ready to improve Turkish-Moldovan ties in every area.

Yildirim said that Moldova’s prosperity and stability are crucial for Eastern Europe and the Black Sea basin.

Later Tuesday, Gabur was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a half-hour closed-door meeting.

Also visiting the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) in Ankara Tuesday, Galbur said that agency’s projects “touch and change the lives of many people.”

TIKA head Serdar Cam briefed Galbur on the Fetullah Terror Organization’s (FETO) coup attempt, adding that schools linked to the terror organization “can be found” in Moldova and that he believes authorities should take “necessary measures” to shut them down.

Since 1994, TIKA has implemented nearly 300 projects in Moldova in such areas as health, education, civil and administrative infrastructure, and agricultural production.