KIEV

Ukraine’s president on Friday thanked Turkey’s leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his help in bringing back four Ukrainian sailors from Libya.

The sailors, detained in the North African country in 2016, were sentenced to five years in prison in December 2017.

They were released this week and reached Ukraine on Friday.

“Glad to welcome our sailors, members of the Captain Khayyam tanker's crew, at home after 5 years of detention in #Libya! Ukraine never forgets and doesn’t leave its people in trouble,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

“Special thanks to @RTErdogan [Recep Tayyib Erdogan] for helping to evacuate our citizens. Ukraine appreciates Turkey’s support,” he added.

* Writing and contribution by Iclal Turan in Ankara