ANKARLIC AIR BASE, Turkey: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced more aid to Turkey on Sunday and said Washington would provide long-term support to Ankara as it seeks to rebuild after this month’s earthquake.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey and neighboring Syria on February 6, killing more than 45,000 people and displacing more than a million, with economic costs expected to reach billions of dollars.
Blinken arrived at Incirlik Air Force Base on Sunday for an official visit and to discuss how Washington can do more to help.
From Incirlik, he took a helicopter ride with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to get a bird’s-eye view of the earthquake devastation in southern Hatay province.
“This is going to be a long-term effort,” Blinken told reporters at the base, which Washington uses as a de facto headquarters to run its aid efforts.
Search and rescue operations are winding down nearly two weeks after the quake, but Blinken said the U.S. will continue to help.
“When you look at the extent of the damage, the number of buildings, the number of apartments, the number of houses destroyed, it takes a massive effort to rebuild, but we are committed to supporting Turkey in this effort. are,” he said.
“The most important thing right now is getting people help…simply put, America is here.”
Since the earthquake, the United States has sent a search-and-rescue team to Turkey, along with medical supplies, concrete-breaking machinery and $85 million in additional humanitarian funding that also covers Syria.
Blinken also said President Joe Biden plans to approve $50 million in Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance funds (ERMA) in response to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
With an additional $50 million provided by the State Department and USAID, the total U.S. humanitarian assistance to help with the earthquake response in Turkey and Syria reached $185 million, the U.S. State Department said.
Long-delayed visit
Blinken will hold further bilateral talks with Cavusoglu in Ankara on Monday and is also expected to meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, sources familiar with the planning said.
Blinken’s first visit to Turkey as foreign minister has been long overdue, but it comes just two years after he took office.
That’s in stark contrast to some of his predecessors, including Hillary Clinton and Rex Tillerson, who visited within the first three months of their terms.
Analysts say the delay reflects the strained nature of relations, which have deteriorated since 2019 when Ankara acquired a Russian missile defense system.
Experts say that while the US has praised some of Turkey’s actions during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is concerned about its close ties with Moscow.
Talks between Washington and Ankara will also focus on stalled NATO applications by Sweden and Finland, which Turkey has so far refused to ratify, saying Stockholm in particular They have given shelter to what they call members of terrorist groups.
Erdogan said last month that he was only ready to ratify Helsinki’s request.
Sweden and Finland applied to join the transatlantic defense pact last year after Russia invaded Ukraine, but faced unexpected objections from Turkey and has since withdrawn its support. An attempt was made.
Ankara wants Helsinki and Stockholm to take a tougher stance against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey and the European Union consider a terrorist group, and another group blamed for a 2016 coup attempt.
