UK pledges to work with European allies to support Turkish quake victims

By Sumeyye Dilara Dincer

NEW DELHI (AA) — The British government will work closely with its European allies to support Türkiye during an EU donor conference which will be held in Brussels on March 16.

Speaking to Anadolu during his visit to New Delhi for the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, British top diplomat James Cleverly said: “We will work very closely with our friends in Europe to make sure we continue supporting Türkiye through the response to this earthquake and then ultimately, of course, to the rebuilding of the homes that the people who have lost their homes and so desperately in need.”

On Feb. 8, the European Commission announced their intention to host a donors' conference, in coordination with the Turkish authorities, to mobilize funds from the international community in support of the people of Türkiye and Syria following the devastating earthquakes, according to a European Commission statement.

“Türkiye is an important friend and ally to the United Kingdom and when we saw the terrible earthquakes that had hit Türkiye, it was heartbreaking. So we were very keen to give support quickly with the search and rescue teams, but also to give humanitarian support.”

Commenting on calls to initiate a visa scheme for the quake victims, Cleverly said he does not have any news about any changes to the visa relationships with Türkiye, and added: “But we know that Türkiye will be an important partner and friend and ally to the UK for years to come. And of course, we want to make sure that Turkish people and British people get to visit each other's countries, perhaps working in each other's countries and get to know each other better. And this will always be at the forefront of our thinking when we look at how we work with Türkiye in the future.”

After Ankara made an international call for help as part of its level-4 alert after the quakes, a team of 77 people, including doctors, firefighters, and engineers, from UK International Search and Rescue (ISAR) was deployed in Hatay, Türkiye's southernmost province and one of the worst hit by the disaster.

The British Foreign Secretary said his government is keen to hold strong relations between the two states and praised the contribution of the Turkish society in the UK. “We very much value our close relationship with Türkiye and there are many people of Turkish heritage in the UK. They contribute enormously to British society and to the British economy. We always make sure that we find ways of working closely with our friends.”

- UK to continue supporting Ukraine for allies

Cleverly reiterated his country's Ukraine policy, saying the UK will continue to support Kyiv until they have successfully defended themselves.

“We've supplied anti tank missiles. We supplied main battle tanks and now we are training their pilots and their marines to help them defend themselves in the future. We will continue to work with Ukraine talking to them about what they need. And we will also talk with our friends in the international community to make sure that together, we are giving Ukraine the equipment they need to defend themselves, but also the equipment to repair the energy supplies, their water supplies, and the humanitarian aid that they need to get through this tough winter. We will we will keep supporting Ukraine until they win.”

Almost 12 months have passed since Russia declared a "special military operation" in Ukraine, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 8,006 civilians and 13,287 injuries, according to UN figures.

- UK government happy to reach agreement over Northern Ireland

The UK and European Union on Monday struck a new deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol, replacing it with what is called the Windsor framework after persistent disputes over post-Brexit trade arrangements.

The British foreign secretary said: “The Northern Ireland protocol was making it very difficult for one part of our country to do business with another part of our own country. So I'm very pleased that we were able to get a resolution on this with the Windsor framework. I'm very pleased that we're able to resolve this long standing issue, which is good news for the people of Northern Ireland. And I think also good news for our relationship with the European Union.”

With border checks on certain goods, the superseded Northern Ireland Protocol had created a de facto trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The UK left the European Union in 2020 following the 2016 Brexit referendum, ending the country’s four-decade membership in the bloc. The protocol had been a major thorn of contention between the sides.

* Writing by Mehmet Solmaz.