UNITED STATES/TURKEY: On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey to initiate an official visit and conversations on Washington’s role in helping Ankara as it struggled with the aftermath of one of the deadliest earthquakes that killed tens and thousands of people. Blinken would also initiate bilateral talks on Monday and meet the Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan.
On Sunday afternoon, the key US diplomat Antony Blinken landed at the Incirlik Airbase in Turkey’s southern province of Adana. From there, they could tour the earthquake-inflicted places with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu.
A magnitude of 7.8 earthquake hit the southeast and the neighbouring country of Syria on Feb 6, killing more than 45,000 people and rendering nearly a million people homeless. The economic expenses are expected to be close to a billion dollars.
After the earthquake, the United States sent medical necessities, concrete-breaking machinery, a search and rescue team, and funding of $85 million in humanitarian aid for Syria and Turkey.
Despite the United States praising Turkey for its actions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, its close relationship with Moscow has been a grave concern.
Sweden and Finland had applied last year to join the trans-Atlantic defence pact following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but have been countered by Turkey. Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic Senator, said on Saturday that permitting Finland to join the alliance would not suffice.
He stated, “If Erdogan continues to refuse Finland and Sweden’s requests for entry, there won’t be any F-16 transfers. In my opinion, there is a widely held opinion that he is not entitled to have Finland admitted and the F-16s approved.”
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