First ladies voice solidarity with Türkiye in wake of deadly earthquakes

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Messages of support continued to pour in from first ladies of countries around the world after a devastating series of earthquakes struck southern Türkiye.

In separate phone calls with Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan, Jordanian Queen Rania al-Abdullah and Azerbaijani first lady Mehriban Aliyeva expressed condolences for those who lost their lives in the earthquakes and wished recovery to the injured.

"The grief of the Turkish people is our grief," Aliyeva said on Twitter.

Erdogan said Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to rush to Türkiye's aid in this difficult time: "Thank you for your support. It's nice to know that our friends are with us."

For her part, first lady Olena Zelenska of war-hit Ukraine tweeted on Monday: "Despite our own tragedy, our thoughts and prayers are with Türkiye today. Deaths and suffering of thousands of people — indescribable pain.

Mentioning Erdogan in the tweet, she added: "We are here for you and ready to help in any way possible. My condolences to those affected by the tragedy. Ukraine is with you."

Erdogan responded by expressing Türkiye's gratitude for Zelenska's condolence message and support, saying: "We are facing pain beyond words. I have no doubt that, with unity and solidarity, we will overcome this together."

In a separate tweet on Thursday, Zelenska said Ukraine shared the pain of Türkiye's losses and was doing everything possible to help overcome the "terrible consequences" of the earthquakes.

Uzbekistan's first lady Ziroatkhon Hoshimova also conveyed her condolences to Erdogan, as did Maria Begona Gomez Fernandez, the wife of Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, expressing her sadness and solidarity with Türkiye.

"We are deeply shaken by the enormity of the tragedy. Our hearts go out to the earthquake victims, their families and rescue teams," she added.

Martine Moise, wife of former Haitian President Jovenel Moise, said on Twitter that the prayers of Haiti were also with Türkiye, especially those affected by the earthquake tragedy.

More than 16,500 people have been killed and over 66,100 injured after two powerful earthquakes jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, according to latest official figures.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, have impacted some 13 million people across 10 Turkish provinces.