There is no evidence a Turkish helicopter was shot down, said Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Wednesday before an official visit to Belarus.
“There is no evidence that the helicopter was downed. An accident crash committee was formed. An investigation in the armed forces is underway,” Yıldırım said.
Two Turkish Armed Forces personnel were martyred when an ATAK helicopter crashed in northwestern Syria’s Afrin during the ongoing Operation Olive Branch on Saturday.
Talking to reporters in western Muğla province on Saturday, Yıldırım said: "Unfortunately, one of our two ATAK helicopters on a mission in Afrin region has crashed. Two heroic members of the Turkish Armed Forces were martyred."
About his two-day official visit to Minsk, Yıldırım said he would meet his Belarusian counterpart Andrey Kobyakov, as well as President Alexander Lukashenko.
“New measures and decisions in order to further develop mutual investment will be discussed during the visit. After Belarus, we will travel to Germany and meet with Chancellor Merkel. We will have the opportunity to discuss all ties between Germany and Turkey,” said Yıldırım before departing from Ankara for his trip.
“We will also discuss the enmity toward Islam and extreme nationalism that has risen in Europe, and the precautions that must be taken,” he added.
Following his visit to Minsk, the premier said he would head on Friday to Germany, where he is expected to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel and attend the Munich Security Conference.
Ankara "explicitly" told Greece that refraining from tensions would be "better" for bilateral ties, Yıldırım said.
"We explicitly expressed to him [Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras] that staying away from tensions will be better, with regards to relations between the two countries," he added.
His remarks came a day after he and Tsipras spoke over the phone and discussed recent developments in the Aegean Sea.
He said the Aegean Sea should be a "friendship" sea between Turkey and Greece.
"Recently, there have been some violations in this tension, which started with Kardak rocks, to which we gave a response," Yıldırım said.
He added the two premiers agreed to ease tensions and keep communication line open via political and diplomatic channels.
Yıldırım said a NATO General Staffs meeting would be held in May.
"In this framework, the chiefs of General Staff of the two countries will gather and mutually discuss the necessary measures to ensure tensions in the field do not escalate further," he added.
