ANKARA, April 28. /TASS/. Russia intends to supply construction materials to Turkey at a discount as an aid in the aftermath of the February earthquake. The Hurriyet newspaper reported this on Friday, citing sources in the administration of President Tayyip Erdogan following his talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
According to the newspaper, a ship with construction materials from the Russia is to arrive at the port of Iskenderun, and in the coming months Moscow may provide them at a discount.
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province, located in the country’s southeast, on February 6. The tremors, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, were felt in eleven provinces as well as in neighboring countries, including Syria. The death toll in Turkey exceeded 49,500 people.
The Hatay province was the worst affected by the February 6 earthquake. In the first days after the disaster, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry sent doctors and rescuers to Turkey for debris removal. An airmobile hospital was also deployed. A group of Russian rescuers worked in the province of Kahramanmaras and neighboring regions. On March 19, an airmobile hospital of the Russian Health Ministry was sent to Hatay.