U.S. President Joe Biden has authorized the delivery of humanitarian aid to Turkey and announced the dispatch of additional teams to support Turkish search and rescue efforts following Monday’s earthquake near the Syrian border that has left more than 4,300 people dead.
The U.S. president made this known in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to whom he reiterated the willingness of the United States to provide all possible assistance to Turkey to deal with the consequences of the earthquake.
Biden expressed to Erdogan his condolences on behalf of the American people for those who have been injured or lost loved ones in the earthquakes, according to a White House statement, in which the U.S. president stressed the importance for Washington of assisting a NATO ally.
According to the White House, the process has begun to deploy additional teams to support Turkey’s efforts to search and rescue people trapped under the rubble, as well as to meet the needs of those injured and displaced by the earthquakes, it said in a statement.
It has also indicated that since the first recorded earthquake in the area, U.S. officials have been working «closely» with Turkey.
More than 4,300 people have been killed by the succession of earthquakes registered this Monday in the south of Turkey, near the border with Syria, according to data provided by the authorities of both countries and the ‘white helmets’ that attend to Syrian opposition areas, although it is feared that the figure could increase in the coming hours due to the fact that thousands of people have been injured and that many are still trapped in the rubble.
BLINKEN PLEDGES TO HELP VICTIMS «AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE» U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu his condolences for the «terrible loss of life» caused by the earthquakes, and has pledged to «do everything possible» to help the victims.
«Blinken and Cavusoglu have discussed ways in which the United States and our partners could best assist (Turkey),» read a State Department statement.
In this regard, Blinken has confirmed that the U.S. response of assistance to Turkey was «already underway,» and has pledged to «do everything possible» to help earthquake victims in both Turkey and Syria.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
