The European Union has excluded Russia from the list of countries invited to participate in an international donor conference organized by Brussels on March 20 to raise funds for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, the European Commission said Friday
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 10th March, 2023) The European Union has excluded Russia from the list of countries invited to participate in an international donor conference organized by Brussels on March 20 to raise funds for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, the European Commission said Friday.
“Co-hosted by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and by Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, for the Swedish Presidency of the Council, and organised in coordination with the Turkish authorities, the Donors’ Conference will be open to EU Member States, candidate countries and potential candidates, neighbouring and partner countries, G20 members – except for Russia – Member States of the Gulf Cooperation, as well as the UN, international organisations, humanitarian actors and international and European financial institutions,” the statement read.
The commission noted that the EU intended to make substantial commitments to further aid, recovery and reconstruction in Turkey and Syria. The EU urged the international community and global donors to “show solidarity” with the people of Turkey and Syria in such difficult circumstances “by mobilising pledges in line with the scale and magnitude of the damage,” according to the statement.
The commission added that invitations to the conference would be sent out shortly.
In February, two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6 hit the south-eastern regions of Turkey at a nine-hour interval. They were followed by hundreds of aftershocks that were felt in 11 Turkish provinces and in the neighboring countries, with Syria being affected the most.
Over 46,000 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster in Turkey alone, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Thousands more died in Syria. According to a United Nations Development Programme official, the economic damage from the earthquakes will exceed $100 billion in Turkey alone.
The EU has already provided about 12 million Euros ($12.8 million) in humanitarian aid to Turkey and about 10 million euros to Syria to meet the urgent needs of the population and eliminate the catastrophic consequences of the earthquakes, according to the commission.
Immediately after the natural disaster, Russia offered help to Turkey and Syria. Moscow sent groups of rescuers and military personnel, as well as the necessary special equipment, to the areas most affected by the earthquakes. They were removing debris, searching for victims and providing medical assistance among other activities. In addition, Russian Muslims have organized fundraising to help the people of Syria and Turkey.
Many other countries were seeking to help the two states, but faced difficulties with providing aid to Syria over sanctions imposed on the country’s government by the EU, the United States and the United Kingdom after the start of the civil war in 2011.
The West has currently lifted sanctions at the request of the international community, but only temporarily.
