Turkish, Turkmen presidents speak over phone

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday spoke over the phone with his Turkmen counterpart Gurbangulu Berdimuhamedov, according to the country's Communications Directorate.

During their phone talk, Erdogan extended condolences to Berdimuhamedov, whose father, Malikguli Berdimuhamedov, died earlier this month.

No further details of the phone conversation were mentioned.

Malikguli Berdimuhamedov was a senior military official in Turkmenistan, and after his retirement in 1982 as lieutenant colonel, he worked as a teacher for many years.

On April 18, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Twitter posts also wished Allah's mercy upon Berdimuhamedov, and conveyed condolences to the president, as well as the "friendly and brotherly" people of Turkmenistan.