EU expresses condolences over death of Iranian president
Kyiv • UNN
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials were killed in a tragic helicopter crash. The EU countries expressed their condolences, among others.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the European Union expresses its condolences over the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, while Polish President Andrzej Duda compared his death to the death of former Polish President Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash in Russia in 2010, UNN reports.
The European Union expresses its condolences on the deaths of President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian and other Iranian officials involved in the tragic helicopter crash on Sunday
He also noted that the EU expresses its condolences to the families of all the victims and to the affected Iranian citizens.
President of the European Council Charles Michel also noted that the EU expresses its sincere condolences over the deaths of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian, as well as other members of their delegation and crew in the helicopter crash.
"Our thoughts are with the families," Michel wrote on the social network X.
Commenting on the death of the Iranian president, Polish President Andrzej Duda compared the incident to the death of former Polish President Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash in Russia in 2010.
"I am deeply touched by the news of the tragic death of the President of Iran, Mr. Ebrahim Raisi, together with his government delegation in a plane crash. But we, Poles, who in 2010 experienced the terrible crash of a Polish government plane in Smolensk, Russia, know the feeling of shock and emptiness that remains in the hearts of people and in the country after the sudden loss of the political and social elite, after the sudden loss of relatives and friends. Therefore, we join the families of the victims and the Iranian people in prayer and sorrow with special understanding," Duda wrote in the X.
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Janez Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, explained that helping to find the Iranian president was about humanity, not about supporting a political regime.
"Providing satellite mapping upon request to assist a search and rescue operation is not an act of political support for any regime or institution. It is simply an expression of basic humanity," Lenarcic wrote.
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Addendum
Belarus, Russia, China, and Syria also expressed their condolences over the death of the Iranian president.
Self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has sent condolences to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Khamenei over the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raisi and a number of high-ranking officials.
"On May 20, Chinese President Xi Jinping conveyed a letter of condolences to Mr. Mohammad Mohbar, First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, over the death of Mr. Seyyed Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement.
The Russian Embassy in Tehran, expressing condolences to the Iranian people over the death of the president and his companions in the crash, said that the embassy flag would be flown at half-mast in solidarity with Iranian friends.
The government of Lebanon has declared three days of national mourning over Raisi's death.
In Syria, three days of mourning have also been declared due to the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and their entourage.
