UN aid chief cancels visit to Turkiye over COVID-19

By Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths on Tuesday canceled his visit to Turkiye after testing positive for COVID-19.

"I regret to say that I tested positive for COVID today. I am following health guidance, cancelled travel, and isolating at home," Griffiths said in a Twitter post.

"I’m grateful to have had my vaccines already, an opportunity too many around the world have not had. #VaccineEquity."

On Monday, he announced that he would visit Turkiye on April 20-21 to discuss a humanitarian cease-fire in Ukraine, the evacuation of civilians and humanitarian aid to Ukrainians.

Praising Turkiye’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he said: "I'm really impressed by the way Turkiye has been able to present itself to both sides as a genuinely valuable and useful host to those talks with all the difficulties."

The UN official was supposed to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his two-day visit on Wednesday and Thursday.

At least 2,072 civilians have been killed and 2,818 injured in Ukraine so far in the war, according to UN estimates, with the true figure believed to be much higher.

More than 4.9 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with over 7 million more internally displaced, said the UN refugee agency.