Israeli president sends condolences to Erdoğan

ANKARA

AP Photo

Israel and Pakistan have expressed deep condolences on the death of former Turkish President Süleyman Demirel, who received a state funeral on June 19.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sent a letter to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in which he conveyed to the Turkish people and the bereaved family “sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathy on the passing of the ninth president of the Turkish Republic” on behalf of the people of Israel.

“President Demirel will be remembered as a great statesman, a president who was the first to welcome an Israeli president to Turkey, a leader who contributed to the development of the relations between our two nations,” read the letter.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also expressed deep condolences on the death of Demirel on behalf of the people and government of Pakistan.

In separate letters to Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Sharif expressed deep sorrow and grief over the death of the former president. He said Demirel held an iconic place in Turkey’s political history and that his legacy in strengthening Pakistan-Turkey relations would always be remembered.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani Parliamentary Speaker Oktay Asadov and Deputy Foreign Minister Halef Halefov, former Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu, Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akıncı and Prime Minister Özkan Yorgancıoğlu, Georgian Refugee Minister Sozar Subari, Kyrgyzstan Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev, Ukrainian lawmaker and former Crimean Tatar Parliamentary Speaker Mustafa Abdülcemil Kırımoğlu and other dignitaries were among the attendants at Demirel’s funeral.