WASHINGTON

The US envoy to the UN said on Tuesday that the US is committed to assisting Türkiye in its earthquake recovery efforts, including through an additional $1 million in funding for new projects and exchanges in the quake zone.

“My thoughts remain with those families across the region who lost loved ones as a result of this horrific tragedy,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement marking the first anniversary of the twin earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria on Feb. 6.

“The United States stands with its Turkish partners to support long-term recovery efforts and continues to work to assist Syrians impacted by the quakes. We salute the Turkish and Syrian first responders and others from around the world who helped the injured and displaced,” she added.

Noting her visit to the Türkiye-Syria border in Hatay to meet with humanitarian agencies and NGOs helping displaced Syrians, she said the humanitarian situation was already fragile after more than a decade of war in Syria, with many displaced families fearful of returning.

She said in the aftermath of the quakes, the US and partner organizations provided more than $242 million in assistance across Syria and Türkiye, and that the humanitarian situation in Syria remains dire.

She urged Damascus to extend the UN’s ability to utilize the Bab al-Salaam and Al-Rai crossings, adding that the international community must continue to work to ensure that food, water, shelter, and other critical humanitarian assistance those in northern Syria.

Catastrophic twin earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 shook southern Türkiye and northern Syria on Feb. 6, 2023, destroying thousands of buildings and killing 53,500 people.

The US has provided more than $315 million in humanitarian assistance Türkiye and Syria to support partners delivering emergency food, health, shelter, water, sanitation, and other life-saving assistance. 

The additional $1 million funding announced by the US envoy to the UN is “funding from the Department of State and the U.S. Mission for cultural heritage preservation, professional exchanges, and education initiatives,” a State Department spokesperson told Anadolu.