Turkish, Polish foreign ministers discuss COVID-19

By Handan Kazanci

ISTANBUL (AA) – In a phone call, the Turkish and Polish foreign ministers discussed the coronavirus pandemic and in particular ending a seven-day quarantine for travelers from Turkey, said diplomatic sources on Wednesday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu told his Polish counterpart that Turkey is ready to work together to end the quarantine requirement, pointing out that it is already off the German and French red lists, and is working closely with these countries to facilitate safe travel.

Cavusoglu said that while these countries do not impose restrictions, the quarantine decision made by Poland, which Ankara has close relations with, was questioned in Turkey, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media

For his part, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said that he understands Ankara’s concerns, and he knows that the vaccination campaign in Turkey is progressing rapidly, so a solution can be found that will satisfy both sides.

Rau said Poland is ready to work with Turkey and he will personally deal with this issue and convey the situation to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and that he is in contact with the country’s health minister.

Since it started a mass vaccination campaign in January, Turkey has administered nearly 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to official figures released on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Germany's top disease control agency removed Turkey from the list of high-risk COVID-19 countries.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Turkey is now merely a normal risk country and so there is no longer any need for a five- to 10-day quarantine.

On June, 17, France removed Turkey from the red list of countries covered by travel restrictions against the coronavirus pandemic.