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Turkish presidential spokesman wishes recovery to Russian counterpart

Dmitry Peskov earlier confirmed to TASS that he had tested positive for the coronavirus

ANKARA, May 12. /TASS/. Turkish Presidential Spokesman Fahrettin Altun has wished a speedy recovery to his Russian counterpart Dmitry Peskov who tested positive for the coronavirus.

"We attach great importance to coordination and cooperation with our friend Russia in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. I wish a speedy recovery to my friend, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Together, we will achieve success," Altun wrote on Twitter in Russian.

Peskov earlier confirmed to TASS that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Russian presidential spokesman, a Turkologist, used to work at the Russian embassy in Turkey. He has several times acted as an interpreter at Vladimir Putin’s meetings with top Turkish officials.

Coronavirus pandemic

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 4,269,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 287,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 1,534,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.