Türkiye thanks Jordan for solidarity, strong support in wake of quakes

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Emphasizing that aid from Jordan arrived immediately after the earthquakes, the Turkish foreign minister thanked Jordan and its people Wednesday for their solidarity and strong support.

In a joint press conference with Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Ankara, Mevlut Cavusoglu said the support from Jordan came immediately after last week's twin earthquakes which claimed the lives of over 35,400 people.

"They've sent search and rescue team of 75 people to our country and have contributed a lot. Thank you very much for this. They also sent a medical team of 30 people with this search and rescue team," said the Turkish minister.

Cavusoglu also said Türkiye's Ambassador Devrim Ozturk, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hatay, along with two Jordanian citizens are still under the debris.

Meanwhile, Jordan has set-up a field hospital in southern Kahramanmaras with 108 personnel, according to Cavusoglu as he announced Safadi's visit to Kahramanmaras on Thursday.

Noting that Jordan sent more than 10 tons of humanitarian aid to Türkiye, Cavusoglu further noted that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has allocated Jordanian cargo planes for the shipment of the tents.

For his part, Jordan's Safadi stressed that his country will always stand in solidarity with Türkiye.

"We always need each other in difficult times and we must uplift each other. We know the consequences of a great disaster very well. Therefore, we will be together with you and put all our resources at your disposal," he pledged.

Saying that Jordan is ready to provide whatever it can, he said the ties of the two countries are historical.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors on Feb. 6 were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa and Elazig. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

Separately, Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu held phone conversation with his Bangladeshi counterpart A. K. Abdul Momen and discussed the situation and aid in quake-hit provinces.