BRUSSELS — Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan said on Monday that the earthquake disaster in Syria and Turkey deserves an adequate response from everyone and Saudi Arabia responded quickly by sending aid and relief teams to these countries. Addressing a joint press conference with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell in Brussels on Monday, he emphasized the need for delivering aid to all parts of Syria. "We encourage all parties to secure the arrival of aid to all regions of Syria," he said. Prince Faisal said that the earthquake tragedy was one of the major topics of discussion during the meeting with the EU officials. "We discussed this issue in our bilateral meeting and Josep Borrell also emphasized this. We are of the view that it is absolutely necessary that aid shall reach all earthquake-hit regions of Turkey and Syria," he said. The minister underlined the need to alleviate the suffering of the quake victims in Syria. "We must ensure that huge humanitarian suffering that afflicted the Syrian people must be lifted and therefore we are fully supporting as much as we can to deliver aid to all parts of Syria," he added. Meanwhile, Saudi relief trucks reached on Monday in the northwestern Syrian city of Jenderes to help the people afflicted by the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey last Monday. An official at the Saudi relief camp said that there are 2,000 tents in the camp equipped to accommodate the earthquake victims of northern Syria. More aid convoys will arrive soon, he added. A number of Saudi relief trucks entered on Sunday the affected areas in northwestern Syria. The relief consignments were distributed in a number of earthquake-affected areas in northern Syria, including Jenderes, Bulbul, Rajo, Atmeh, Sarmada, Kafr Takharim, Dar Azza, and Atarib. This comes in line with the Saudi relief air bridge, launched by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) to help the earthquake-affected people in Syria and Turkey. This relief air bridge is in implementation of the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman. A total of six Saudi relief planes had arrived during the past days in the quake-hit regions of Turkey, carrying food, tents, blankets, rugs, and shelter bags, in addition to medical supplies, as part of the Saudi relief air bridge. Moreover, 11 relief trucks of KSrelief, carrying 104 tons of food and shelter materials, crossed on Saturday, the Olive Branch border crossing point in the Afrin region to be distributed among the earthquake victims in Syria.
