FM Çavuşoğlu to attend NATO meeting via teleconference
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu speaks to reporters following a NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 8, 2019. (AA File Photo)


Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will attend a NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting to discuss ongoing developments on Thursday.

The meeting will be held through video teleconferencing (VTC) for the first time, according to a press release by the Foreign Ministry.

"During the Foreign Ministers Meeting, current issues on NATO's agenda, such as the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the strengthening of the Alliance's political role, among others, will be discussed," the statement read.

On Wednesday, Turkey sent a military plane carrying medical supplies to Italy and Spain.

Italy has registered more deaths than any other country in the world and accounts for more than a third of all global fatalities from the virus.

Meanwhile, Spain has become the country with the fourth-highest number of infections in the world, surpassing South Korea.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg praised Turkey's efforts, tweeting that it was "NATO solidarity in action." "Proud to see NATO allies supporting each other through our disaster relief center," Stoltenberg tweeted with the hashtag #StrongerTogether.

"Turkey stands together with its allies in times of crisis and hardship. We hope our allies do the same," Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın tweeted in response to Stoltenberg.

The Italian delegation in NATO also took to Twitter to thank Turkey. "Following Italy's activation of NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center, today, our ally Turkey is set to deliver critical medical equipment to Italy. Deeply grateful to our Turkish friends for their solidarity!" said the delegation.

The Spanish delegation to NATO also expressed gratefulness to Turkey via their official Twitter account. "After Spain's request to NATO's EADRCC, a new supply to fight COVID-19 arrives from our ally Turkey," it said, referring to the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC).