Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base opens warehouses to distribute aid to Syria’s quake victims

ANKARA (Agencies): On February 6, parts of Turkiye and Syria were hit by a series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks that killed nearly 40,000 people. As many countries rushed to offer assistance to Turkiye in the aftermath of the disaster, the situation in Syria was complicated by the economic sanctions imposed against the country by the West.

The Russian military at the Khmeimim air base in Syria have begun distributing humanitarian aid to the population affected by the devastating recent earthquakes directly from their own warehouses.

The decision to open the base to the Syrian population greatly accelerated the overall effort to help the victims, and was made at the express orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lt. Col. Alexander Vasiliev of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria told Sputnik.

“We have started distributing aid from our warehouses at the direct order of Russian President Vladimir Putin… The process of direct transfer of assistance from the base should speed up the process. Most of the victims who come to us have found temporary shelter at accommodation centers provided by two mosques closest to the base,” Vasiliev stated.

The Russian military is distributing humanitarian aid to Syrians affected by the devastating recent earthquake.

According to him, humanitarian supplies to Khmeimim from Russia will be delivered daily, as long as necessary. At the same time, a first-aid post is operating at the Russian airbase, which receives victims of the earthquakes and provides them with all the necessary medical assistance. Both visiting Russian and local Syrian doctors work here. Throngs of people have been queuing for humanitarian and medical aid at the base.

The Russian military is distributing humanitarian aid at its Khmeimim base to Syrians affected by the devastating recent earthquake.

“Russia has never abandoned us in times of need in recent years. Russia helped us fight terrorism, restore peaceful life in our country, then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia gave us the vaccine. Now, it is helping us overcome the consequences of the earthquake. I think many will agree with me: we will never forget this,” said one of the women who was waiting for humanitarian aid at the Russian base.

Nearly 40,000 people are estimated to have perished in the series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks that hit parts of Turkiye and Syria on February 6. The death toll from the disaster in Syria currently stands at about 8,500, according to Rick Brennan, the acting regional emergency director for the Eastern Mediterranean office of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Russian military is distributing humanitarian aid to Syrians affected by the devastating recent earthquake.

While NATO-member Turkiye has been on the receiving end of an outpouring of aid from dozens of countries, assistance to Syria has been hampered by geopolitics. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday called on the United States to immediately lift all illegal unilateral sanctions against Syria.

“The US government should immediately lift unilateral sanctions on Syria instead of engaging in a political show about so-called temporary relief,” spokesman Wang Wenbin told a briefing.

On February 10, the US Treasury said it would provide several months of sanctions relief for Syria to allow certain transactions for recovery efforts in the wake of the earthquakes.

As for Russia, it is constantly in contact with the Syrian side and providing assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Courtesy: sputniknews