Armenian envoy says quakes in Türkiye also felt in Armenia 'in every sense'

By Bilal Kahyaoglu and Yavuz Aydin

ANKARA / ADIYAMAN, Türkiye (AA) – The two earthquakes that jolted Türkiye last week were also felt in Armenia "in every sense," Yerevan's envoy for normalization of relations with Ankara said on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, the pain we shared here brought us together, but we hope that one day, not happiness and disaster, but mutual cooperation will bring us together,” Ruben Rubinyan told Anadolu during an interview in the city of Adiyaman, where Armenian rescuers have assisted in search and rescue operations.

Noting that earthquakes are not something foreign to Armenians, Rubinyan said both Turks and Armenians live in an earthquake zone.

"In such cases, there is only solidarity between societies. Armenia's aid to Türkiye in the face of this disaster reflects the feelings of the Armenian community," Rubinyan said.

Rubinyan also expressed his condolences and solidarity with Türkiye, adding that he hoped they can "achieve sustainable peace."

Rubinyan arrived in Türkiye along with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Wednesday, who held a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in the capital Ankara.

At least 36,187 people were killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country's disaster agency said on Thursday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.

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.