Response to Türkiye Earthquakes
As delivered by Chargé d’Affaires Courtney Austrian
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
February 9, 2023
The United States offers our deepest condolences to all those affected by the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye earlier this week. When news of these earthquakes reached us, President Biden immediately directed my country to support the international relief effort. The United States has already deployed more than 150 search and rescue personnel to Türkiye and U.S. helicopters are supporting Turkish response efforts in hard-to-reach areas. USAID Administrator Samantha Power further announced the deployment of a Disaster Assistance Response Team that will work in close coordination with Turkish authorities on the front lines. I would be very interested in further exploring the proposal raised by the Turkish ambassador on how the OSCE could respond to this horrible event and hopefully learn from this experience. In the meantime, the United States stands with the people of Türkiye and Syria at this difficult time and our hearts are with you.
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