Azerbaijan, Baku, March 15 /Trend/
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Turkey would extend its helping hand to Japanese people who did not leave Turkey alone in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in 1999, Anadolu News Agency reported.
Recalling that a massive magnitude-9 quake and tsunami hit Japan and caused the biggest tragedy of the country after the World War II, Erdogan said that Turkish people knew very well the pain caused by such a disaster.
In 1999, Turkey's northwestern part was hit by a magnitude-7.4 earthquake, killing at least 17,000 people.
Erdogan said Turkey shared the pain of Japanese people and offered condolences to Japanese government.
He said Turkey had sent a rescue team to Japan to determine needs of quake-hit people.
"We will stand by our Japanese friends with all our means. Our rescue and medical teams are ready to depart in case of a request. We will extend our helping hand to Japan who did not leave us alone after the 1999 earthquake," he said.