By Trend

Turkey on Friday emphasized the urgency of safely evacuating civilians from Ukraine, especially from the besieged port city of Mariupol, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

In a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar stressed the importance of reaching a cease-fire to support efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution in Ukraine and underlined the "urgency of the safe evacuation of civilians, especially in Mariupol, from the land or sea," according to a statement by the Defense Ministry.

Akar reiterated that Turkey will continue to do its part to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the statement added.