A delegation of Turkish officials has arrived in New Zealand following a deadly mosque attack in Christchurch, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters on Sunday.
The Turkish delegation will also meet members of the Muslim community, lay flowers and wreaths and meet other New Zealand government figures during their two-day visit.
At least three Turkish nationals were among the 50 killed during Friday’s shooting attack at the Al-Noor Mosque and nearby Linwood Mosque.
The move comes after Ankara opened an inquiry after it emerged that the man alleged to be the gunman made several visits to Turkey.
A visitor believed to be the 28-year-old Australian – who has been arrested and charged with murder in New Zealand – visited Turkey several times and stayed for a long period in the country.
A manifesto published online allegedly by the gunman contained specific references to Turkey and ridding the famed Hagia Sophia in Istanbul of its minarets.
Now a museum, the building was once a church before being turned into a mosque during the Ottoman empire.
Hundreds of Turks on Saturday protested outside the popular tourist attraction, calling it to be re-converted into a mosque.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday condemned the deadly attacks, saying it illustrated the growing hostility towards Islam “idly” watched by the world.
“With this attack, hostility towards Islam, that the world has been idly watching and even encouraging for some time, has gone beyond individual harassment to reach the level of mass killing,” Erdogan said.
