All news

Putin offers condolences to Erdogan after deadly earthquake

Russian President expressed his sincere condolences over human victims and large-scale destruction caused by a powerful earthquake

MOSCOW, January 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a telegram to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, expressing his sincere condolences over human victims and large-scale destruction caused by a powerful earthquake, the Kremlin’s press office reported on Saturday.

"Russia shares the pain and grief of those who have lost their near and dear as a result of this disaster and hopes for the quickest recovery of all those hurt in the quake," the telegram of the head of the Russian state says.

At least 21 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in a powerful earthquake that struck eastern Turkey, the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority reported on Saturday.

The 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted the eastern Turkish province of Elazig with a population of about 400,000 people at 20:55 local time (the same as the Moscow time) on Friday. The epicenter of the tremor that also affected the neighboring province of Malatya was located at a depth of 10 km. The aftershocks were felt in many regions of the country and also in Israel, Iraq and Syria, according to the data reported by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.