Jakarta: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman offered their condolences Thursday to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the victims of the crash of a Turkish military cargo plane on the Azerbaijan-Georgia border.

According to Anadolu Agency, a Foreign Ministry statement said the Saudi monarch sent a cable expressing ‘condolences and sympathy’ to President Erdogan following the Turkish plane crash and the resulting fatalities. He prayed for God’s mercy on the victims and patience for their families, asking that Trkiye be spared ‘all harm.’

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a similar condolence message to the Turkish president, the ministry said.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said 20 soldiers were killed Tuesday when one of its military cargo planes crashed near the Azerbaijan-Georgia border.