MUNICH: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive on Sunday (Feb 19) in Türkiye for an official visit and discuss how Washington can further assist Ankara as it grapples with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people.
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye’s southeast and neighboring Syria on Feb 6, killing more than 45,000 people and leaving over a million people homeless along with an economic cost expected to run into billions of dollars.
Also topping the agenda will be the stalled NATO bids of Sweden and Finland, which Turkey has so far refused to ratify, saying Stockholm in particular has harboured what it calls members of terrorist groups. Ankara has recently indicated it would approve only Finland.
The top US diplomat will land at Incirlik Air Base in the southern province of Adana, from where he will take a helicopter tour of the quake-struck area. He will then hold bilateral talks on Monday with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Blinken is also expected to meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, sources familiar with the planning said.
Since the earthquake, the United States has sent a search and rescue team to Turkey, medical supplies, concrete-breaking machinery, and additional funding of US$85 million in humanitarian aid that also covers Syria.
Blinken’s first visit to Turkey as secretary of state has been in the works for some time but comes two years after he took office, in stark contrast with some of his predecessors including Hillary Clinton and Rex Tillerson, who made the visit within the first three months of their terms.
The delay, analysts say, shows the strained nature of the relationship, which has soured particularly since 2019 when Ankara acquired Russian missile defense systems. While the United States has praised Turkey for some of its actions during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it remains worried over its close relationship with Moscow, experts say.
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