U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in capital Ankara on Monday (February 20) to discuss how Washington can further assist Ankara as it grapples with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people, Reuters reports.
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey's southeast and neighboring Syria on Feb. 6, killing more than 45,000 people and leaving over a million people homeless along with an economic cost expected to run into billions of dollars.
Also topping the agenda will be the stalled NATO bids of Sweden and Finland, which Turkey has so far refused to ratify, saying Stockholm in particular has harbored what it calls members of terrorist groups. Ankara has recently indicated it would approve only Finland.
Blinken arrived at Incirlik Air Force Base for an official visit on Sunday.
