Top Turkish, Nigerian diplomats discuss sailors' rescue

ANKARA

The foreign ministers of Turkey and Nigeria spoke on Saturday to discuss developments following the release of Turkish sailors from pirates’ captivity a day earlier, diplomatic sources said.

Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Nigerian counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama held a phone conversation as six of the 15 rescued Turkish sailors were brought to the Turkish Embassy in the capital Abuja.

The top Turkish diplomat also spoke to Mustafa Kaya, the captain of the ship, in a separate phone call, according to the sources.

The remaining nine sailors are expected to arrive at the embassy later in the day and the group will then depart for Turkey.

The sailors were abducted after a pirate attack on a Liberia-flagged ship off the coast of Nigeria on Jan. 23.

An Azerbaijani sailor was killed in the attack, while the pirates left three crew members to take the ship to port.

They anchored at the nearby Port-Gentil in Gabon and were brought back to Turkey on Jan. 30.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas