Blinken announces earthquake relief package

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday after touring the earthquake sites, announcing a new $100 million relief package for the victims of the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria two weeks ago, causing massive destruction and casualties. over 44,000 people in two countries. Relations between the United States and Turkey, two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, have at times been tense, and this visit by a US secretary of state to Turkey is the first since he took office two years ago. The US minister said that it is in the “national and security interests” of the administration of US President Joe Biden to upgrade the current F-16 fighters and supply Ankara with new aircraft. He made it clear that Washington is well aware of Turkey’s legitimate concerns about its southern border. And the US Secretary of State promised to “continue to work closely to address these issues.” For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu confirmed that Turkey cannot buy F-16 fighters under restrictive conditions.