Egyptian foreign minister arrives in Damascus

By Ibrahim Sabahi

ISTANBUL (AA) - Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Monday arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus on a visit of solidarity due to the earthquakes that occurred on Feb. 6.

The Syrian regime's news agency SANA said Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad received his Egyptian counterpart at Damascus International Airport.

The news agency said the visit aims "to confirm solidarity with Syria in facing the repercussions of the earthquake."

On Sunday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Shoukry was set to embark on a visit to Syria and Türkiye on Monday to convey a message of solidarity from Egypt with the two countries and their two brotherly peoples, following the Feb. 6 quake catastrophe.

At least 44,374 people have died in two strong earthquakes that shook southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, an official from the nation’s disaster agency said on Sunday.

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

In Syria, at least 5,840 people have been killed in the earthquake disaster, according to compiled figures.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara.