INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday introduced additional help to Turkey and stated 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 neighboring Syria on Feb. 6, killing greater than 45,000 folks 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 Force 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 Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to look at from above the devastation brought on by the earthquake within the southern Hatay province, one of many hardest hit.
“This is going to be a long-term effort,” Blinken advised reporters on the base, which Washington has used as a de facto headquarters to conduct its reduction effort.
Almost two weeks after the earthquake, search and rescue operations are coming to an finish, however Blinken stated the United States would proceed to assist.
“When you see the extent of the damage, the number of buildings, the number of apartments, the number of homes that have been destroyed, it is going to take a massive effort to rebuild but we are committed to supporting Turkey in that effort,” he stated.
“The most important thing right now is getting assistance to people…Simply put, the United States is here.”
Since the earthquake, the United States has despatched a search and rescue group to Turkey, together with medical provides, concrete-breaking equipment and extra funding of $85 million in humanitarian help that additionally covers Syria.
Blinken additionally stated that President Joe Biden intends to authorize $50 million in Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Funds (ERMA) in response to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
With the extra $50 million delivered via the State Department and USAID, complete US humanitarian help to assist the earthquake response in Turkey and Syria reached $185 million, the US State Department stated.
Long-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 accustomed to the planning stated.
Blinken’s first go to to Turkey as secretary of state has been deliberate for a while, however is barely happening two years after he took workplace.
That is in stark distinction with a few of his predecessors, together with Hillary Clinton and Rex Tillerson, who visited throughout the first three months of their phrases.
The delay, analysts say, exhibits the strained nature of the connection, which has soured since 2019 when Ankara acquired Russian missile protection techniques.
While the United States has praised Turkey for a few of its actions throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it stays involved about its shut relationship with Moscow, specialists say.
Talks between Washington and Anakara are additionally anticipated to deal with the stalled NATO purposes of Sweden and Finland, which Turkey has up to now refused to ratify, saying Stockholm specifically has harbored what it calls members of terrorist teams.
Erdogan final month stated he was open to ratifying solely Helsinki’s utility.
Sweden and Finland utilized final 12 months to hitch 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 Workers’ Party (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
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
