The U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Monday just before the Turkish leader flew to the earthquake-ravaged Hatay province.
Blinken had earlier met civilian aid workers from the Syrian rescue group White Helmets during his visit to the Turkish-Syrian border region ravaged by earthquakes.
The civilian rescue group described the desperate situation amid the rubble in north-west Syria, where the decade-long civil war has complicated international efforts to deliver aid and assistance.
White Helmets deputy Farouk Habibiti described U.S. support as “crucial’’ during the meeting with Blinken.
Habibiti told dpa afterwards that Blinken reiterated U.S. support for uninhibited humanitarian aid delivery to the region.
Sweden has called for a donor conference of European Union countries on March 16 to raise relief funds and coordinate aid for Turkey and Syria.
The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria from the massive earthquakes has continued to rise and now stands above 47,000.
In Turkey alone, the disaster authority AFAD reported on Monday that 41,156 people died in the quakes.
The official death toll in Syria stands at 5,900 but it has not been updated in days.
Thousands more were feared dead in both countries.
dpa
