UPDATE - Coronavirus so far claimed 473 Turkish expats abroad

UPDATE WITH MORE REMARKS FROM TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER

By Tevfik Durul

ANKARA (AA) - The coronavirus death toll among Turkish expatriates abroad has risen to 473, said Turkey's foreign minister on Tuesday.

Due to the outbreak Turkey has also so far brought home over 65,000 of its nationals from 103 countries, Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference in the capital Ankara.

"30,000 of those who were evacuated were brought from 83 countries on 157 flights since April 16," he said.

Cavusoglu said Turkey will always stand by its nationals, wherever they are, and continue to evacuate them from abroad to protect them when needed.

He also said the remains of Turkish citizens who died abroad are brought back to Turkey when requested, including some 350 so far this year.

Cavusoglu added that due to the relaxation of coronavirus measures in some countries, some evacuated Turkish citizens wanted to return to the countries abroad they came from.

"For example, when the normalization process in Iraq started, some of the citizens brought here a few weeks ago asked for help to go back to Iraq. We will do this by coordinating with the Iraqi authorities and our representatives there," he said.

Lastly, stressing Turkey's solidarity with other countries in the fight against the outbreak, Cavusoglu said Turkey continues to respond to requests for assistance from abroad while fighting the epidemic at home.

So far, Turkey has delivered aid to at least 57 countries, including the US, UK, Italy, and Spain, and remains the world's third-largest provider of humanitarian aid during the pandemic.

As of Monday, Turkey registered a total of 3,461 deaths due to coronavirus, while 68,166 people have recovered from the disease. To date, the country has seen a total of 127,659 confirmed cases of the virus.

More than 3.6 million cases have been reported in 187 countries and regions since the virus emerged in China last December, with the US and Europe the world's hardest-hit areas.

A significant number of COVID-19 patients -- over 1.17 million -- have recovered, but the disease has also claimed over a quarter-million lives so far, according to data compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Fahri Aksut and Gozde Bayar