In wake of quakes, Bosnia-Herzegovina shows Ankara great affection, says Turkish foreign minister

Türkiye and Bosnia-Herzegovina are working together to further their deep-rooted bilateral relationship, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Wednesday.

"We feel a great level of affection towards us from Bosnia and Herzegovina," Çavuşoğlu said at a news conference with Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic in the capital Ankara.

Çavuşoğlu said Konakovic visited Türkiye to show his country's solidarity with Türkiye after last week's twin earthquakes claimed the lives of nearly 35,420 so far.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors on Feb. 6 were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck nine other provinces-Hatay, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakır, Kilis, Osmaniye, and Şanlıurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

"Three search and rescue teams with 234 people from Bosnia and Herzegovina came to Türkiye right after the earthquake. They are working hard in Hatay, Adıyaman, and Kahramanmaraş and as of Feb. 12, they have rescued 26 people from the wreckage," Çavuşoğlu said.

Türkiye is going through difficult times, but the solidarity it sees from all over the world gives the nation strength, he added.

"We are working together to further strengthen our historical and cultural ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina. We attach great importance to the peace, prosperity and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We strongly support its sovereignty and territorial integrity," the minister stressed.

A total of 7,846 foreign personnel from 100 nations are currently working in the disaster zone, with two more nations expected to send rescue teams, Çavuşoğlu said.

For his part, Konakovic said Bosnia and Herzegovina stood with Türkiye and the Turkish people.

"We are not a country with a strong economy, but we have once again shown our feelings and that we are together with the Turkish people," he added.

He also hopes to further improve bilateral relations with Türkiye.

Konakovic is later expected to visit Hatay to meet with search and rescue teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina.