Turkish president receiving support messages after deadly quakes

By Diyar Guldogan

ANAKRA (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to receive messages of support from world leaders after last week's devastating earthquakes in Türkiye's southern region.

On Thursday, Erdogan separately received NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the capital Ankara, where they offered condolences to Türkiye.

In a phone call with Erdogan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez conveyed their condolences for those who lost their lives in the quakes and wished recovery to the injured, according to the Türkiye's Communications Directorate.

During the meetings and phone calls, the leaders expressed their support for Türkiye and their solidarity with the Turkish people, it added.

At least 36,187 people died and over 108,000 injured by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.