Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Russia’s assistance to Syria after Monday’s devastating earthquake, the Kremlin press service said after Putin’s phone call with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad.
“Putin expressed sincere condolences over the consequences of the earthquake in northern Syria resulting in numerous human casualties and offered assistance to the Syrian side,” it said.
“Bashar Assad accepted this offer with gratitude and Russian emergencies ministry’s rescuers will leave for Syria within hours,” it said.
Earlier, Putin sent telegrams of condolences to Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A powerful earthquake rocked Turkey’s southeastern Kahramanmaras province early on Monday. According to the latest reports, more than 1,000 people have been killed in Turkey and more than 400 in neighboring Syria. Thousands have been injured. Initially, the earthquake’s magnitude was assessed at 7.4 but later Turkey’s emergencies authorities said that its magnitude was 7.7.
According to Turkish seismologists, it was one of the most devastating earthquakes in the region in recent years. Many countries, including Russia, have offered assistance to Ankara and Damascus. Russia’s emergencies ministry said it is ready to send two Il-76 planes with rescuers.
Russian rescue workers will fly to Syria and Turkey after a huge earthquake killed more than 2500 people and injured thousands more, the Kremlin said.
President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan to express his condolences over the death and destruction wrought by the magnitude 7.8 quake, the worst to strike Turkey this century.
“In the coming hours rescuers of the Russian emergencies ministry will fly to Syria,” the Kremlin said in a statement. Russia said it had emergency rescue Ilyushin-76 planes on standby to fly to the two countries. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered Russian forces in Syria to help with the rescue effort. (Reuters)
