Turkish first lady thanks UAE, Azerbaijan, Qatar over earthquake support

ANKARA

Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan on Thursday thanked the Azerbaijani first lady, UAE's mother of the nation, and Qatari emir's mother for their support after last week's deadly earthquakes.

"We will not forget our Azerbaijani brothers who said 'Your pain is our pain'," Erdogan said on Twitter.

She expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva for their support with humanitarian aid planes, and the search and rescue teams right after the Feb. 6 twin earthquakes jolted southern Türkiye, claiming the lives of over 36,000 people so far.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

Erdogan also thanked UAE's mother of nation Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak and the people of the UAE for their support of the 'Bridges of Goods' humanitarian campaign launched by the UAE Red Crescent.

"I believe that we will overcome this disaster with the solidarity of friendly peoples," she said on Twitter.

Erdogan also expressed gratitude to Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, mother of Qatar's emir, and Qatari people who supported the aid campaign for earthquake victims.

"We will always remember the friendship of the countries that lent a helping hand to Türkiye," Erdogan said on Twitter.

Condolences have poured in from around the world expressing solidarity with Türkiye, with many countries sending rescue teams and aid.