UPDATE - Ukraine, top UAE diplomat congratulate Türkiye's newly appointed foreign minister

UPDATES WITH ANOTHER CALL; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye's new foreign minister held separate phone calls on Thursday with his Ukrainian and United Arab Emirates counterparts, according to diplomatic sources.

After addressing developments in Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba extended his congratulations to Hakan Fidan on taking office and invited him to visit his country.

"In our call, I congratulated my Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on his appointment and updated him on the dire humanitarian and environmental consequences of the Kakhovka disaster. He affirmed that Türkiye is working on providing humanitarian assistance to alleviate the crisis," Kuleba said on Twitter.

The Kakhovka dam along the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine was breached on Tuesday, flooding swathes of territory. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of blowing up the dam and causing the damage, which has affected nearby settlements.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan also extended his congratulations to Fidan on his appointment.

"Abdullah bin Zayed congratulates @HakanFidan on his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye and affirms the UAE’s readiness to advance relations to greater lengths," the UAE Foreign Ministry tweeted.

Fidan took charge from his predecessor, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on Monday. He was the chief of Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) for 13 years.