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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday introduced additional help to Turkey and mentioned Washington would offer long run assist to Ankara because it seeks to rebuild following this month’s earthquake.
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey’s southeast and neighbouring Syria on Feb. 6, killing more than 45,000 people and leaving a million-plus homeless, with the financial price of the catastrophe anticipated to run into billions of {dollars}.
Blinken arrived at Incirlik Air Drive Base on Sunday for an official go to and discussions on how Washington can additional help.
From Incirlik, he took a helicopter experience with Turkish Overseas Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to watch from above the devastation attributable to the earthquake within the southern Hatay province, one of many hardest hit.
Reporters on the tour noticed the uneven toll from the huge quake, with some buildings standing however with collapsed roofs and shattered home windows. Different residential buildings leaned closely to 1 aspect after decrease ranges had collapsed, and blue and white tents housing survivors had been arrange among the many rubble.
“It’s actually exhausting to place into phrases. You see buildings nonetheless standing after which buildings collapsed, roofs destroyed and proper subsequent to it, one thing that’s nonetheless standing,” Blinken advised reporters on the base, which Washington has used as a de facto headquarters to conduct its aid effort.
Nearly two weeks after the earthquake, search and rescue operations are coming to an finish, however Blinken mentioned america would proceed to assist what he mentioned could be “a long-term effort”.
“Whenever you see the extent of the injury, the variety of buildings, the variety of flats, the variety of houses which have been destroyed, it’ll take a large effort to rebuild however we’re dedicated to supporting Turkey in that effort,” he mentioned.
“An important factor proper now’s getting help to individuals … Merely put, america is right here.”
Because the earthquake, america has despatched a search and rescue workforce to Turkey, together with medical provides, concrete-breaking equipment and extra funding of $85 million in humanitarian help that additionally covers Syria.
Blinken additionally mentioned that President Joe Biden intends to authorise $50 million in Emergency Refugee and Migration Help Funds (ERMA) in response to earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
With the extra $50 million delivered by way of the State Division and USAID, complete U.S. humanitarian help to assist the earthquake response in Turkey and Syria reached $185 million, the U.S. State Division mentioned.
Lengthy-delayed go to
Blinken will maintain additional bilateral talks in Ankara on Monday with Cavusoglu and he’s additionally anticipated to satisfy Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, sources conversant in the planning mentioned.
Blinken’s first go to to Turkey as secretary of state had been deliberate for a while, however is barely happening two years after he took workplace.
That’s in stark distinction with a few of his predecessors, together with Hillary Clinton and Rex Tillerson, who visited inside the first three months of their phrases.
The delay, analysts say, reveals the strained nature of the connection, which has soured since 2019 when Ankara acquired Russian missile protection techniques.
Whereas america has praised Turkey for a few of its actions throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it stays involved about its shut relationship with Moscow, consultants say.
Talks between Washington and Ankara are additionally anticipated to handle the stalled NATO purposes of Sweden and Finland, which Turkey has to this point refused to ratify, saying Stockholm particularly has harboured what it calls members of terrorist teams.
Erdogan final month mentioned he was open to ratifying solely Helsinki’s utility.
Sweden and Finland utilized final 12 months to affix the trans-Atlantic protection pact after Russia invaded Ukraine however confronted surprising objections from Turkey and have since sought to win its assist.
Ankara needs Helsinki and Stockholm to take a harder line in opposition to the Kurdistan Employees’ Celebration (PKK), which is taken into account a terror group by Turkey and the European Union, and one other group it blames for a 2016 coup try.
(Reuters)
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