Catastrophic Earthquake Brings Turkey, Syria Together

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Turkey and Syria continue to deal with the devastating consequences of the February 6 earthquake, which left tens of thousands of victims in both countries.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake affected the central and southern provinces of Adana, Adıyaman, Batman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa, while in Syria the northern and western provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Lattakia and Tartus were hit.

The earthquake occurred amid a large winter storm, which hampered rescue efforts in both Turkey and Syria, dropping snow on the ruins and bringing plummeting temperatures.

More than 40 countries, including European Union members and the United States, were quick to dispatch rescue teams and ship humanitarian aid to Turkey.

The response to the catastrophe in Syria was slower, with the first aid delivered by Russia, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Tunisia and Lebanon.

Israel, who dispatched several rescue teams to Turkey, alleged that it has received an aid request from Syria and that it was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, Damascus’ foreign minister Faisal Mekdad was quick to dismiss the claim, stressing that Syria doesn’t acknowledge the state of Israel.

The EU activated its Civil Protection Mechanism with Syria only on February 8 and has not yet deployed any rescue teams in the country.

Sanctions imposed on Syria by the U.S. and the EU exacerbated the hardship of average Syrians, as nations and organizations would not be able to offer direct assistance for fear of being subjected to sanctions. There were demands to lift or suspend the sanctions to aid humanitarian efforts following the earthquake. However, both the U.S. and the EU insisted that sanctions are not affecting humanitarian efforts in the war-torn country.

As of February 9, the death toll from the earthquake reached 12,870 in Turkey and more than 3,500 in Syria. In addition, more than 62,000 were wounded in Turkey and at least 3,750 others were wounded in Syria.

The death toll is expected to dramatically increase in the upcoming few days in Turkey and Syria. Both countries are still in much need of aid.

The earthquake interrupted Russian efforts to restore ties between Ankara and Damascus, who were close allies before the outbreak of the war in Syria. A high-level meeting between the defense ministers of Turkey and Syria was set to be held before the end of the month in Moscow. The meeting will likely be delayed. However, the natural disaster could in the end help bring the two countries closer.