Prime Minister Ünal Üstel held meetings with high-ranking officials in Ankara to expand the scope of search and rescue operations aimed at locating missing persons following the maritime accident off the coast of Girne on August 30.
In this context, Üstel met with Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, as well as Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, and Commander of the Naval Forces Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu. These meetings, which addressed the details of the ongoing efforts, provided an important platform for evaluating new steps that could be taken in the search and rescue processes.
After the meeting, Cevdet Yılmaz stated that all available resources and technical capacities are being mobilized to locate the missing citizens. It was noted that this process holds great significance for families waiting to reach their loved ones, and authorities reported that a specialized company with expertise in search and rescue operations has been commissioned.
Speeding Up Rescue Operations
Prime Minister Üstel emphasized that all aspects of the rescue operations, especially after the accident off the coast of Girne, are being taken into consideration and efforts are ongoing to increase technical capacity. He noted that Turkey’s entire state mechanism is supporting this process, and authorities have been working on a 24/7 basis since the first day of the accident.
Üstel also met with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss potential new steps that could be taken to locate the missing persons. He stated, “The state is making every effort to reach the missing people,” and emphasized that “All resources are being exhausted.” The Prime Minister thanked the officials of the Republic of Turkey for standing by the Turkish Cypriot people.
Judicial Process and Cooperation
President Üstel also met with Justice Minister Akın Gürlek to exchange information about the judicial process and cooperation following the accident. Minister Gürlek noted that Turkey will continue to provide all necessary support to the TRNC and that the judicial cooperation process regarding the accident is being closely monitored.
These discussions have been held to continuously improve search and rescue operations and take necessary steps to locate the missing individuals. Prime Minister Üstel stated that all these efforts will increase hopes of finding the missing persons while emphasizing that they are working tirelessly to respond to the families’ wait.
Source: www.diyaloggazetesi.com
