Turkish foreign minister conducts intense diplomatic traffic after deadly quakes

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – As condolences poured in and countries mobilized support, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has been engaged in intense diplomatic contacts since the deadly Feb. 6 earthquakes in southern Türkiye.

Cavusoglu has held 23 meetings and more than 70 phone calls with ministers, foreign diplomats, and senior representatives of international organizations.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes, while the death toll is now over 44,200.

Cavusoglu met with Tahsin Ertugruloglu, foreign minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), on Feb. 9, followed by meetings with Martin Griffiths, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, on Feb. 10 and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on Feb. 11.

On Feb. 12, Cavusoglu met his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias in the quake-hit Hatay province, where he thanked Greece for its support during “such difficult times.”

On Feb. 13, Cavusoglu held separate talks Equatorial Guinea Foreign Minister Angue Simeon and Libya’s Najla Elmangoush in the capital Ankara.

In a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Ankara on Feb. 14, Cavusoglu praised Israel’s “serious” support in search and rescue efforts in Kahramanmaras.

“Israel is one of the first countries that sent support to Türkiye,” said Cavusoglu.

On the same day, Cavusoglu held a meeting with Nechirvan Barzani, head of northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).

On Feb. 15, he met Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Jordan’s Ayman Safadi, and Florent Ntsiba, state minister and director of the Presidential Cabinet of Congo, in Ankara.

On Feb. 16, Cavusoglu met Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister Arnoldo Andre Tinoco and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who traveled to Türkiye to extend solidarity and support.

“Our NATO allies immediately sent support to Türkiye after the earthquake,” Cavusoglu said.

On Feb. 18, Uzbekistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Bahtiyor Saidov paid a visit to Ankara, where Cavusoglu hailed Uzbekistan for standing by Türkiye at a challenging time.

- US secretary of state visits Türkiye

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a visit to Türkiye on Feb. 19-20 to express solidarity and convey Washington’s support.

Cavusoglu and Blinken conducted an aerial inspection of the quake-hit region.

On Feb. 20, they held a joint news conference in Ankara, where Blinken said he was “profoundly saddened” by the devastation.

Later that day, Cavusoglu held a joint news conference with his North Macedonian counterpart Bujar Osmani, as well as Helga Schmid, secretary general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Cavusoglu hosted Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Abdulcemil Kirimoglu on Feb. 21, as well as Jang Sung-min, special representative of the president of South Korea.

On Feb. 22, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi and Johan Forssell, the international development minister of Sweden, paid a visit to Ankara.

On Feb. 23, Cavusoglu held separate meetings with Hissein Brahim Taha, secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Muhammad Musa Bello, Nigeria’s federal capital territory minister and special presidential envoy.

The same day, Cavusoglu held a joint news conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bouhabib and Ali Hamie, Lebanon’s transport minister, who visited Ankara to voice solidarity with Türkiye.

Besides meetings and phone calls, Cavusoglu has also received more than 100 messages of solidarity and support.