Türkİye, World

'Just the beginning': Serbia to send more aid, rescue teams to quake-hit regions of Türkiye, president says

'We will see what else we can do,' Aleksandar Vucic tells Anadolu

Talha Ozturk  | 09.02.2023 - Update : 09.02.2023
'Just the beginning': Serbia to send more aid, rescue teams to quake-hit regions of Türkiye, president says

BELGRADE, Serbia 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday said Serbia's support to quake-hit Türkiye is "just the beginning" and will continue in the days to come.

"We are with you and this is just the beginning of our support for Türkiye," Vucic told Anadolu. "I have just spoken to the ambassador (Turkish envoy in Belgrade Hami Aksoy) about the further steps that we are going to take, including financial support for the areas hit by the disastrous earthquake."

Vucic said Serbia will send more miners, army personnel as well as humanitarian assistance, adding: "We will see what else we can do."

"We are with you and we will do a lot more in the days to come," the Serbian leader asserted.

Vucic also signed a condolence book for Türkiye at the Turkish Embassy in Belgrade, expressing the Serbian nation's grief over the deadly earthquakes that have killed over 14,000 people.

"The Republic of Serbia and its citizens truly sympathize with their Turkish friends in these moments of such painful sorrow," Vucic wrote in the book.

Meanwhile, Turkish envoy Aksoy said the Serbian nation and leadership has once again shown great support to Türkiye, and bilateral relations are at the highest level in history.

Earlier, Serbia sent to Türkiye two search and rescue teams consisting 45 personnel on instructions of the president.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, struck 10 provinces and affected more than 13 million people. Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of fewer than 10 hours.

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