UPDATE - Turkish foreign minister holds sideline talks in Brussels

ADDS SIDELINE MEETINGS OF TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held talks Monday on the sidelines of the International Donors’ Conference in Brussels for earthquake victims in Türkiye and Syria.

Cavusoglu separately met with Toivo Klaar, the European Union’s special representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, and Achim Steiner, the administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

He tweeted that they discussed regional issues and the reconstruction process after the earthquakes.

Cavusoglu attended the International Donors’ Conference, organized by the European Commission and the Swedish Presidency of the European Council to support those affected by the devastating earthquakes in southern Türkiye.

On Feb. 6, magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 Turkish provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa, claiming the lives of over 50,000 people.

More than 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the quakes as well as many others in northern Syria.​​​​​​​

Ahead of the conference, Cavusoglu held a closed-door meeting with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias.

"We continue our solidarity after earthquake & train accident. Agreed to mutually support our candidacies," Cavusoglu said on Twitter.

Cavusoglu also separately discussed post-earthquake reconstruction efforts with European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) President Odile Renaud-Basso.

The EU and international donors pledge €7 billion ($7.5 billion) to support Türkiye and Syria in the aftermath of the earthquakes.