Governments around the world were quick to respond to requests for international assistance after Monday’s devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, deploying rescue teams and offering aid.
The European Union said it was urgently dispatching search and rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania to Turkey to help. In a statement, the bloc also said it was directing its satellite system to support Turkish efforts in mapping the quake and its aftermath.
India said it was sending medical squads, search and rescue teams and relief material to assist Turkey’s response. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, said he was “anguished” by the loss of life in Turkey and Syria.
The U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said in a statement that the United States was “profoundly concerned” by the earthquake and stood “ready to provide any and all needed assistance” to Turkey. President Biden had directed USAID and other federal government partners to assess the U.S. response options, the statement added.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry put 100 staff on standby and stood ready to send two planes with rescuers to Turkey, the Russian news agency Tass reported. President Vladimir Putin also said Russia was ready to provide assistance to Syria, in a telegram to the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, according to Syrian state media.
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had ordered the authorities “to make immediate preparations to provide medical, and search and rescue assistance.” Israel’s military said it was preparing to send an aid delegation to Turkey.
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