Helsinki, Feb 6 – Finnish authorities on Monday expressed their condolences to Turkey and Syria over the devastating earthquake that has killed at least 1,500 people and injured thousands and offered their help to both countries.
“My deepest condolences for the victims and suffering caused by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Urgent help and assistance is now needed,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin wrote on her official account on the social networking site Twitter.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö sent a letter to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayip Erdogan expressing his “deepest condolences for the lives lost and devastation suffered” in the tragic earthquake, according to the Office of the President.
For his part, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said he was “shocked” by the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and offered the Nordic country’s help.
“Our thoughts are with the victims and their families. Finland stands ready to help,” he said on the Finnish Foreign Ministry’s Twitter account.
The condolences of the Finnish authorities join those previously expressed by other leaders of the Nordic countries, including the prime ministers of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, and Denmark, Mette Frederiksen.
More than 1,300 dead in Turkey and Syria after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake