Strong international solidarity gives strength to quake-hit Türkiye: Foreign minister

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye saw "strong international solidarity" following last month's deadly earthquakes that shook the country's southern provinces, the Turkish foreign minister said on Thursday.

"We have a phrase 'united we stand, united we are stronger' and we believe in this. I do know that many European countries also use this phrase. Now, we are seeing strong international solidarity at a time of disaster we are going through. This support not only gives us morale but also gives us strength," Mevlut Cavusoglu said in his remarks made to the EU ambassadors to Türkiye and other European diplomats in Ankara.

He said the primary agenda of the meeting with the diplomats is the Feb. 6 earthquake, adding that there are citizens of other countries who also lost their lives in the Feb. 6 massive earthquakes.

"We have experienced a disaster that led to the major loss of life and destruction in our republic’s history. It is the extraordinary natural disaster to occur in a European country in a century," he said.

Calling for joint action on issues threatening humanity, Cavusoglu said that Türkiye has been "the most charitable country in the world according to its national income" as it "stood by anyone in need of help."

Recalling his participation in the recent G-20 foreign ministers' meeting in the Indian capital New Delhi and the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Qatar's capital Doha, Cavusoglu said: "We have seen that all countries are on our side, from the most developed to the least developed countries."

"The European Union, with its member countries, candidate countries and institutions, has a great share in this support," he added.

The Turkish minister also thanked all countries that sent their officials on solidarity visits to Türkiye and its quake-hit regions.

Noting that the EU's emergency aid and search and rescue teams were dispatched to Türkiye immediately, Cavusoglu said that his country will "continue cooperation with EU in recovery and rebuilding processes in the upcoming period."

"Türkiye, of course, is an important country in our common home – Europe. Türkiye is either a neighbor, a commercial partner or an ally of many countries who are here today," Cavusoglu said as he added that the "earthquake once again reminded us not only of our neighborliness, friendship, and alliance but also of our human ties."

He expressed hopes for this spirit of solidarity, alliance and friendship to "be reflected in all dimensions of Türkiye-EU relations in the coming period," and said: "Regional and international developments show how important our cooperation is at the global level."

On Feb. 6, two powerful earthquakes – magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 – struck southern Türkiye.

The massive tremors, centered in Kahramanmaras province, also shook 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.

More than 46,100 people were killed in the earthquakes and some 13.5 million people have been affected, with thousands of buildings destroyed.