Monitoring Desk
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry expressed solidarity and sympathy to Turkiye and Syria after an earthquake rocked both countries along their border early Monday morning.
The first quake – at 7.8 magnitude – struck at around 4 am local time on Monday, and the second – at 7.7 magnitude – struck before 2 pm as the rescue and search work continued.
At least 1,600 people are already known to have been killed in Turkiye and more than 800 in Syria, and the death toll continues to increase.
In a statement, the foreign ministry said Saudi Arabia was closely monitoring the quake situation in the disaster-hit area.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also called President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkiye and President Bashar Assad of Syria.
The UAE President offered his condolences to both presidents and the citizens of both countries and offered assistance.
Arab countries extend assistance to quake -hit Turkiye and Syria
In his letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Emir of Kuwait, Nawaf Al-Sabah, extended his condolences to the President and the victims’ families, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
The Saudi embassy in Turkiye said it had not received any reports of Saudi Arabia’s citizens affected by the disaster. The embassy added it was following up with the authorities of Turkiye to ensure that there were no citizens in the affected area.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry conveyed its solidarity and condolences with Syria and Turkiye in a statement, affirming its readiness to provide assistance.
The Foreign Ministry of Palestine also extended its condolences to Syria and Turkiye.
OIC has also extended condolences to Syria and Turkiye over the deadly earthquake that left hundreds dead in both countries. OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha called the organization’s Member States and relevant institutions to contribute to the rescue efforts.
