British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed in a telephone conversation to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan his condolences for the consequences of the earthquakes that have struck Turkey and Syria and left nearly 8,000 dead, pledging the UK’s unconditional support.
Sunak stressed that on Tuesday a British search and rescue team sent to Turkey, consisting of 77 people, arrived today in the city of Gaziantep with specialized equipment and dogs, all in response to the request of the Turkish government, according to a statement from Downing Street.
Sunak has conveyed to Erdogan his «deepest condolences» for the tragic loss of life. The Turkish president, for his part, thanked his British counterpart for his solidarity in response to the tragedy and welcomed international search and rescue and medical support for the emergency response.
Erdogan has also pointed to the worrying humanitarian situation across the border in northwestern Syria, saying Turkey is playing an important coordinating role.
About 7,200 people have been killed by the succession of earthquakes recorded on Monday in southern Turkey near the Syrian border, according to data provided by the authorities of both countries and the ‘white helmets’ serving in Syrian opposition areas.
In Turkey alone, the death toll has already exceeded 5,400 dead, so that the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has declared a state of emergency for the next three months in the main affected provinces, where troops from more than fifty countries have arrived.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
