Turk selected as ‘Man of the Year’ in Ukraine

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The “Man of The Year” contest has been organized since 2001 by Argumenty i Fakty Ukraine and Komsomolskaya Pravda Ukraine, daily publications read widely in Ukraine, along with the Ukrainian editions of Russian weekly Tele Nedelya and another weekly named “Favorite” from various areas of interest.

Attending the “The Man of the Year” award ceremony in Odessa on Tuesday, Turkey’s consul general in Odessa, Murat Tamer, focused on relations between Ukraine and Turkey in his speech.

Defining the relations as “great,” the Turkish diplomat underlined that improved relations with Ukraine does not necessarily mean well-established ties with other countries in the region.

“I am honored to grant the award to our distinguished professor for his immense contribution for improving relations not only with Ukraine but also with other nations in the region and forging ties of friendship with them,” stated Tamer.

Asalıoğlu was given the award by Valentin A. Smyntyna, the rector of Odessa National I.I. Mechnikov University. The rector thanked Asalıoğlu for his efforts to advance cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey.

“I have been living in Odessa for 10 years. I love this city. Over the course of those 10 years, I have tried to do good things. I am very pleased to be here with you. I wish you all the best for the new year,” noted Asalıoğlu, addressing the ceremony’s attendees.

Soccer player Andrey Varonin, pianist Asiya Ahat and Ukrainian deputy Sergey Grinevetskiy were also given awards for success in their fields.