'No doubt' Türkiye will cope with consequences of deadly earthquakes: Kremlin

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Many countries including Russia are ready to help Türkiye in overcoming the consequences of the deadly earthquakes that struck earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"We have no doubt that Türkiye will cope with this disaster, Türkiye will provide all necessary assistance to the victims, Türkiye will rebuild the destroyed cities. Many, many countries, including our country, will help Türkiye in this, if necessary," Peskov told reporters at a press briefing in Moscow.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, struck 10 provinces and affected more than 13 million people.

More than 150 rescue workers from the Russian Emergencies Ministry are involved in search and rescue operations in Kahramanmaras.

- Gas hub, Ukraine, China-US relations, Nord Stream investigation

Asked about the construction of a gas hub in Türkiye, he stressed that it cannot be a priority right now, but in general, the plan remains in force.

Turning to deliveries of Western weapons to Ukraine, Peskov said "the line between (their) indirect and direct involvement is gradually disappearing."

"We perceive the supply of weapons by the West to the Ukrainian armed forces as the growing involvement of Great Britain, Germany, and France in the conflict in Ukraine," he said.

He added that these actions will change neither the outcome of the conflict nor "the trajectory" that Russia is following to achieve its goals, but will only prolong the war and make it "more painful and torturous for Ukraine."

Commenting on remarks by US President Joe Biden, who called China the key challenge for America, Peskov said the US leadership has been setting priorities in this order for several years.

"For us, it is important that the US maintains its hostile attitude towards our country, the US perceives us as an enemy, the US declares its political will to further expand its involvement in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the US every time ... (refuses) to express readiness to recognize the legitimate concerns of the Russian Federation," Peskov said, adding that instead Washington "provokes further escalation."

The spokesman said the Kremlin is aware of the report published by US journalist Seymour Hersh, alleging Washington's involvement in Nord Stream gas pipeline accidents last September.

"This report should provoke an acceleration of the international investigation. And we see the opposite -- attempts to tacitly curtail this international investigation," he said.

The official noted that Hersh's investigation "surprisingly" has not received wide coverage in Western media.

"Not many countries in the world could have blown up the Nord Streams. And from our side there were statements about all the data that indicate the involvement of the Anglo-Saxons in the organization of this act of sabotage," Peskov said.

Russia was not allowed to take part in the investigation of the Nord Streams accident, and was not provided with information about its course, he said.

Moscow also cannot accept the results of investigations on the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 catastrophe, in which it did not participate, he said.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens.