Blinken praises Americans’ response to Turkey earthquake

By SUZAN FRASER and ANDREW WILKS
Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has praised the support provided by Americans following the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. Blinken made the comments on Monday during a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara. Blinken said the U.S. government had responded “within hours” to the disaster and had so far sent hundreds of personnel and relief supplies. But he said that ordinary Americans had also responded to “heartbreaking” images from the quake zone where nearly 45,000 people have died.