Turkey says Israeli aid after quake makes no difference for normalization

Turkey says Israeli aid after quake makes no difference for normalization

Turkey said that Israel's assistance after an earthquake hit southeastern Turkey would make no difference in conditions for the normalization of their bilateral ties, which deteriorated after an Israeli raid killed 9 Turks in May 2010.

"We don't mix up issues of humanitarian and politics. They are different issues," Turkey's Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal told reporters Thursday.

There was no change with Turkey's basic expectations from Israel in bilateral political relations, the official said.

Relations between Turkey and Israel have strained since last year when Israeli commandos raided on a Turkish aid ship trying to break the blockage to the Gaza Strip. Over the last few months, their relations were more chilled, with both sides declining high level contacts until Sunday's earthquake.

Talks between Israel and Turkey failed after Tel Aviv rejected to apologize for victims of the raid, a condition set by Turkey to normalize their bilateral relations.

After the 7.2-magnitude quake struck Turkey's Van city and Ercis town Sunday, help from abroad began to arrive on Tuesday, including an aid plane from Israel. Israeli plane carried prefabricated houses to Ankara for Turkish quake survivors on Thursday morning.

Another three planes carrying aid would be sent to Turkey in the upcoming days, Israeli embassy officials told semi-official Anatolia News agency.

Some 534 people have now been confirmed dead in Turkey's quake zone, while another 2300 are listed as injured following the disaster, according to latest figures released by Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Administration (AFAD). So far, 185 people had been pulled from under the debris, officials said.

"People are not able to move back to their homes due to the shock wave, anxiety and aftershocks from the earthquake," Erdogan Bayraktar, environment and urban planning minister said at a press conference Thursday.

They had declared 90 percent of the buildings uninhabitable, he added.

Huseyin Celik, deputy head of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said that the quake had affected 700,000 people in the region and up to 115,000 tents were urgently needed.

Acknowledging shortcomings in its initial response to the quake, Turkish government asked for international assistance to help shelter quake victims that were sleeping in overcrowded tents or even out in the open around fires, as weather conditions are worsening.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Unal said 14 countries as well as United Nations organizations would send help to Turkey, including Ukraine, United Kingdom, France, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Russia, Israel, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Ireland, Japan, Belgium, Qatar and Jordan.

Red Cross launched an appeal for 11.4 million U.S. dollars to aid Turkish quake victims.

A separate 5.4-magnitude quake on Thursday morning struck the southeastern Yuksekova town of Turkey, near the Iraqi border. No damage was reported.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

English.news.cn   2011-10-28 03:28:02 FeedbackPrintRSS
ANKARA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua)