U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Turkish counterpart to "pick up the phone and let us know" what the United States can do to help after a huge earthquake hit the country on Monday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters, Trend reports citing Reuters.
The Biden administration's top diplomat spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavushoglu by phone following the earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people across a swathe of Türkiye and northwest Syria.
“It was so important for the secretary to speak to his foreign minister counterpart, Foreign Minister Cavushoglu, in the first instance to offer condolences and to make clear...that anything Türkiye needed that we could provide, they should pick up the phone and let us know,” Price said.
Blinken asked his senior staff on Monday morning to identify what funding might be available to help Turkey and NGOs working on the ground in Syria, Price said.