ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2020) Turkey asked China to clarify inscriptions on aid packages delivered to Armenia that bore reference to Mount Ararat, Foreign Ministry Hamid Aksoy said.
Images circulated earlier in the week of shipments arriving in Armenia with some parcels bearing Chinese and English inscriptions which read "May Our Friendship Higher Than Mountain Ararat and Longer than Yangtze River."
"Based on this news, an explanation was requested from the Chinese ambassador in Ankara and the Chinese Foreign Ministry. According to the ambassador, the humanitarian aid cargo sent to Armenia was delivered to Yerevan by a private company. The inscription in English about Mount Ararat is originally on the boxes was not present and was added later, "said Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy.
According to him, the Chinese ambassador said that this situation is being investigated by the Chinese authorities, the results will be communicated to the Turkish side, while Beijing expresses respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Turkey.
The shipment brought the south Caucasian nation 120 ventilators, 60,000 coronavirus test kits and a slew of personal protective equipment, according to Armradio news outlet.
Mount Ararat, considered a sacred symbol of Armenia, has been part of eastern Turkish territory since the founding of the Republic in 1923 and a point of contention between the two foes.
