Iran�s foreign minister on Wednesday visited the city of Ad?yaman in southern Turkiye to express solidarity with local people affected by powerful earthquakes that hit the country last month, killing at least 45,000 people.

Hossein AmirAbdollahian, who arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday night, visited Ad?yaman on Wednesday afternoon, hours after a meeting and a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The top Iranian diplomat spoke with local officials and people affected by the devastating earthquakes and also visited�a camp set up by the Iranian government�to provide shelter, relief, and aid to�the displaced people.

Speaking to reporters at the site, AmirAbdollahian said the camp was established by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) with assistance from the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) and the military forces.

IRCS�and the army, he maintained, have provided medical services to the affected people while also engaging in rescue operations.

Iranian teams managed to rescue several people trapped under rubble, he told the reporters, noting that IRCS teams were among the first groups who arrived in Turkiye following the February 6 earthquakes.

�At the outset of my visit, I received messages of appreciation from both Turkiye�s officials and people,� Iran's foreign minister said.

Earlier in the day, the top diplomat held a meeting with Cavusoglu, during which�he extended the Islamic Republic of Iran�s condolences and expressed sympathy with the Turkish government and people over the loss of lives in the earthquakes.

He said as soon as the news of the quake in Syria and Turkiye broke out, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi laid serious emphasis on delivering aid and relief services to the quake-stricken people.

He added that the entire Iranian nation and government went out of their way to extend help to the "friendly and brotherly nation" of Turkiye.

For his part, Cavusoglu appreciated Iran for the swift delivery of relief services and aid supplies to the quake-stricken people in Turkey�after the disaster.

The expression of sympathy and aid delivery showed Iran is also a good brother to Turkiye besides being a good friend and neighbor, he said.

The powerful earthquake on February 6 claimed the lives of more than 52,000 people in southern Turkiye and northwestern Syria and rendered millions of people in the two countries homeless.

The quake caused immediate damage estimated at $34 billion, or roughly 4 percent of Turkiye's annual economic output, according to the World Bank.

Many countries, including Iran, dispatched rescue teams and aid to Turkiye. Iran was among the first countries to rush to the aid of quake-hit people in both countries by sending tons of medical, food, and sanitary aid.

 

 

By PRESS TV