Ankara, Feb. 15 (BNA): Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that Armenia extended a hand of friendship to Turkey after the twin earthquakes that struck last week, which have so far claimed the lives of nearly 35,420 people in the country.
“Armenia extended a hand of friendship at this difficult time and showed solidarity and cooperation,” the Anatolia news agency reported.
Cavusoglu said that Mirzoyan’s visit to Turkey was meaningful.
Tremors measuring 7.7 and 7.6 on February 6 were concentrated in Kahramanmaras province and hit nine other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people in Turkey have been affected by the devastating earthquakes.
Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that hit the region in less than 10 hours.
Noting that Armenia sent a 28-person search and rescue team to Turkey after the earthquakes, Cavusoglu said that their efforts have continued in Adiyaman since February 8.
“They sent 100 tons of humanitarian aid and said they will send additional aid,” he added.
For his part, Mirzoyan expressed Armenia’s readiness to build peace in these difficult times.
Armenia’s top diplomat is expected to visit Adiyaman later, as the search and rescue team from his country continues to work.
Rial