US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is in Türkiye to discuss aid to quake hit country. He took a helicopter tour with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in one of the worst-affected provinces, Hatey.
President Joe Biden announced $85 million for Türkiye and Syria days after the earthquake hit both countries and killed more than 44,000 people. Since the earthquake, the US has sent a search and rescue team to Türkiye, along with medical supplies and concrete-breaking machinery.
The additional aid, including $50 million in emergency refugee and migration funds and $50 million in humanitarian assistance has been authorized by the US in response to the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria. Total US humanitarian assistance to support the earthquake response in Türkiye and Syria reached $185 million.
US wants Türkiye to concede on it’s demands of not compromising with the accession of Finland and Sweden into NATO. Türkiye had a lot of geopolitical cards to play before the quake hit but now President Erdogan has no other way out left as he stares at a re-election this year.
US has pledged to support Türkiye in the long-term as the country will need help for maybe years to get back on its feets. US wants Finland and Sweden to be included in NATO at all costs because for them, showing Putin that when he wanted less of NATO, he got more of it is a symbolic victory. What better than an opportunity when a strongman leader is staring at a defeat because of ravaged economy & repercussions of the earthquake.
Türkiye holds legitimate diplomatic cards to bring the conflicting parties in Ukraine to the peace table. The American calculus relies on the fact that whoever Türkiye chooses after Erdogan should not be allowed to drift towards Moscow. This is what is driving their ambitions behind offering aid. Erdogan really has a lot less to play with and this hurts Russia because Russia wanted to help Erdogan revive Türkiye’s economy by offering a gas transit location & fee but Russians are severely constrained to invest in a quake-hit Türkiye.
