Austrian parliament holds minute of silence in memory of war, earthquake victims

By Askin Kiyagan

VIENNA (AA) – Austria's parliament on Friday observed a minute of silence to commemorate victims of the war in Ukraine and the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.

The National Council of the bicameral parliament held a special session, marking the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka greeted Turkish Ambassador to Vienna Ozan Ceyhun, who was among the participants.

Sobotka then invited the members of the parliament to observe a minute of silence to commemorate the victims of the war as well as the victims of the twin earthquakes which jolted southern Türkiye and northern Syria earlier this month.

During the session, Chancellor Karl Nehammer confirmed Austria's support for Ukraine and thanked Türkiye for its mediation efforts during the ongoing war.

Ukraine's Ambassador to Vienna Vasyl Khymynets also attended the special session.

On Feb. 6, two powerful quakes struck southern Türkiye.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors were centered in Kahramanmaras and rocked 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig. Some 13.5 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the trembles that struck in less than 10 hours.

More than 43,000 people were killed by the back-to-back quakes in Türkiye, according to the latest official figures. Thousands of others were injured.

*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara