Turkiye welcomes cease-fire for evacuation of civilians in Ukraine

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - Turkiye on Monday welcomed the cease-fire announced by Russia for the evacuation of civilians in Ukraine.

In a Twitter post, Ibrahim Kalin, Turkiye’s presidential spokesman, said his country will continue to work for ensuring a permanent cease-fire and a positive result from the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

Earlier, Russia announced a "temporary" cease-fire in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Sumy from 10 a.m. local time (0700GMT) to ensure evacuations of civilians.

Russia's war on Ukraine has been met with outrage from the international community, with the European Union, UK, and US, among others, imposing a range of economic sanctions on Moscow.

At least 364 civilians have been killed and 759 others injured in Ukraine since Russia launched a war against the Eastern European country on Feb. 24, according to UN figures, with the real toll feared to be higher.

More than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.