Turkey to continue standing by Turkmens: Minister

By Sena Guler

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s top diplomat reiterated on Wednesday Ankara’s support to Turkmens following an interaction with a minister of Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq.

“Will always stand by our Turkmen brothers & sisters,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter after a meeting with Aydin Maruf, regional minister for ethnic groups of KRG, who is also an executive board member of Iraqi Turkmen Front.

The foreign minister said that recent developments in Iraq, bilateral relations with the KRG, and the current situation of Turkmens were discussed in the meeting.

Turkmens are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and Afghanistan. They are also found in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.