G-7 nations express 'profound sympathy' for Türkiye, Syria earthquake victims

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Group of 7 (G-7) major industrialized nations expressed on Friday their "profound sympathy" for all those impacted by devastating earthquakes that ravaged broad swathes of Türkiye and Syria.

"We stand in solidarity with the people of Türkiye and Syria and pledge our continued support to tackling the consequences of this catastrophe," the leaders of the G-7, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.

"It is vital that humanitarian aid reaches all those who require it as efficiently as possible. We welcome the expansion of cross-border aid for an initial period of three months, and underscore that the humanitarian needs of those in northwest Syria should continue to be met," they added.

The leaders also welcomed EU-led donor conference in March to support the Turkish and Syrian people.

On Feb. 6, two powerful quakes struck southern Türkiye.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors were centered in Kahramanmaras and rocked 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig. Some 13.5 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the trembles that struck in less than 10 hours.

More than 43,000 people were killed by the back-to-back quakes in Türkiye, according to the latest official figures. Thousands of others were injured.