United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Turkey on Feb. 19, where he went on a helicopter tour and saw the mass destruction caused by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and 7.5 magnitude aftershock that affected Turkey and neighboring Syria on Feb. 6.
On this tour, Blinken was accompanied by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. They saw entirely collapsed neighborhoods, debris-filled roads and other crumbled infrastructure. Blinken also flew over rows of tent camps that now house those who lost their homes to the earthquakes.
“It’s really hard to put into words,” Blinken expressed after touring the earthquake-stricken areas. “When you see the extent of the damage, the number of buildings, the number of apartments, the number of homes that have been destroyed, it’s going to take a massive effort to rebuild, but we’re committed to supporting Turkey in that effort.”
While on his tour, Blinken also noted that next to collapsed buildings remain similar structures that are still standing. This has been connected to illegal construction methods in Turkey, and the public has blamed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has served in this role since 2014. However, officials have attempted to spark action by sending out arrest warrants for those accused of negligent construction operations, according to The Washington Post.
The Secretary of State also announced that the U.S. will be giving an additional $100 million in humanitarian aid, bringing the total American support to $185 million.
This visit came as Turkey announced that it is ending its search and rescue efforts in most provinces—which is about two weeks after the devastating earthquakes. Searches will persist in Kahramanmaras and Hatay, two of the hardest hit areas.
“This is going to be a long-term effort,” Blinken said at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. “The search and rescue, unfortunately, is coming to an end. The recovery is on, and then there will be a massive rebuilding operation.”
Over 46,400 people across the two countries have died due to the earthquakes, and millions have been left homeless. The economic cost of repairing the damage is expected to amount to billions of dollars; more specifically, the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation has estimated that the total will be around $85 billion. However, funding the recovery will be difficult, as the country has been dealing with a currency crisis and record levels of inflation that reached 85% in October, according to the Wall Street Journal. The aid from the U.S. will only do so much to help with recovery efforts.
This tour marks Blinken’s first trip to Turkey after two years of President Joe Biden being in office. Although U.S.-Turkey relations have been strained due to Erdogan’s authoritarian nature, Blinken pledged to stand in solidarity with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally.
“The most important thing right now is to get assistance to people who need it, to get them through the winter and to get them back on their feet,” Blinken expressed. “We’ll stick with it until we get the job done.”
