Cavusoglu: US did not send aircraft carrier to Turkiye's Mersin for help

The United States did not send or request the reception of an aircraft carrier in Turkish inland waters to assist in the elimination of the quake aftermath, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said, reported from TASS.

"Warships are constantly cruising in the Eastern Mediterranean. We cannot decide which country's ships to sail in international waters, but we ourselves decide who can arrive in our waters. There was no such request from the United States, and if it was, we would not have allowed. There is no such need [for the arrival of an aircraft carrier],” the minister was quoted by Yeni Safak newspaper.

The newspaper said Cavusoglu has thereby commented on the words of Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder, who said last week that the United States was allegedly sending the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush to Turkiye. The aircraft carrier was supposed to arrive at the port of the city of Mersin.

"We do not need to accept a warship. Some countries, including Greece, have offered to send cruise liners to the region, on which people who have lost their homes could live until June," Cavusoglu said.

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