Fifteen Georgian and three Turk sailors, who were released after 508-days of captivity of Somali pirates, have arrived in Istanbul. The charter flight landed in Ata Turk International Airport a few minutes ago and the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili and the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Taip Erdoghan greeted the former hostages there.
The hostages were released as a result of over one year-ling negotiations carried out by the governmental group of Georgia, which was chaired by the deputy minister of sustainable development and economics, Giorgi Karbelashvili. The sailors were finally released on January 8th, 2012. Their health state is satisfactory.
The group of Georgian authorities was waiting for the sailors in Kenya`s port of Mombasa.
The sailors will arrive from Istanbul to Batumi today, where their relatives are waiting for them.
