Top Turkish, Azerbaijani diplomats speak on phone

ANKARA

Turkish and Azerbaijani foreign ministers spoke over the phone on Tuesday and discussed coordinated efforts to bring back the body of an Azerbaijani crew member killed in a pirate attack off the Gulf of Guinea, according to diplomatic sources.

During the conversation between Mevlut Cavusoglu and Jeyhun Bayramov, it was noted the body will be airlifted from Gabon to Istanbul this evening and will be sent to Azerbaijan tomorrow morning, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking the media.

In a pirate attack on Saturday, out of 19 crew members of a cargo ship, 15 were abducted, while an Azerbaijani national was killed.

Following the attack, the Liberian-flagged ship Mozart on Sunday anchored at nearby Port-Gentil, Gabon, but with only three of its surviving crew members on board.

Turkey is doing everything it can to get back the 15 kidnapped sailors – all apparently Turkish nationals – though the pirates have not made any contact with officials, Cavusoglu said on Monday.

ANKARA

In a pirate attack on Saturday, out of 19 crew members of a cargo ship, 15 were abducted, while an Azerbaijani national was killed.

Following the attack, the Liberian-flagged ship Mozart on Sunday anchored at nearby Port-Gentil, Gabon, but with only three of its surviving crew members on board.

Turkey is doing everything it can to get back the 15 kidnapped sailors – all apparently Turkish nationals – though the pirates have not made any contact with officials, Cavusoglu said on Monday.