ANKARA, March 13. /TASS/. The imam of Mariupol’s mosque has dismissed claims the mosque had come under bombardments, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a diplomatic forum in Antalya on Sunday.

"It is true that our citizens are inside the mosque in Mariupol. We stay in touch with them. Yesterday, there were reports that the mosque had been bombarded. The imam does not confirm this. He says the mosque was not damaged. I have asked [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov to support the evacuation of [Turkish citizens from Mariupol], Cavusoglu said. "Russia has asked us how many Turks still remain in this region. We shared our information. Today we are going to carry out vast work along these lines [for the evacuation of Turkish citizens - TASS].

Cavusoglu said Turkey had evacuated more than 15,000 of its citizens from Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 launched a special military operation in Ukraine following a request for assistance from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He said Moscow had no plans for an occupation of Ukrainian territories. The sole purpose is the country’s demilitarization and denazification.