Solidarity shown with Türkiye during quake disaster can open new page in relations: EU

BRUSSELS (AA) - The solidarity the EU showed after earthquakes struck Türkiye last month could open a new page in relations, according to the bloc’s commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management.

Janez Lenarcic emphasized at the European parliament's Development Committee that the EU will continue to support Türkiye with all its means.

The support will need to continue beyond the EU for the foreseeable future and the wider international community will need to assist in reconstruction and rehabilitation, he said.

Lenarcic said an international donor conference in Brussels later this month, organized by the European Commission and the Council of the European Union, should not only be generous but ensure the reconstruction process is better.

He said the EU has allocated more than €8 million (48.5 million) in humanitarian aid to meet the most urgent needs in affected provinces and is looking for additional funding from other parts of the Commission to help after the Feb. 6 tremors.

- Syria

Regarding Syria, Lenarcic emphasized that sanctions against the Bashar al-Assad regime do not prevent the entry of humanitarian aid to the country but act sensitively so that the help does not fall into the hands of the regime.

Lenarcic said within 48 hours of the earthquakes, an additional €3.5 million in emergency humanitarian aid was dispatched and delivered through the EU's humanitarian center in Beirut, through partner international organizations.

The co-chairman of the European Union-Türkiye Joint Parliamentary Committee, Sergey Lagodinsky, also pointed out that Europe is facing the second-biggest humanitarian and reconstruction crisis after the war in Ukraine.

He said he visited the earthquake zone last week and noted the crisis could cover months or years.

"Despite the tragedy, we also see a chance. This is a chance to renew our relations with our Turkish partners. We have difficulties that will remain in the political arena. But this human dimension and humanitarian action can bring us closer together. The EU is still a European family, regardless of its membership. It can show that we are.”

On the donors' conference in Brussels, Lagodinsky said: "I think we should be ready to provide assistance in a way that leaves no room for ambiguity, doubt or political accusation."

The death toll from the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye rose to 45,089, the country’s disaster management agency, AFAD, said early Wednesday.

The 7.7- and 7.6- magnitude quakes struck 11 provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

More than 13 million people in Türkiye have been affected.