Saudi Leadership Orders Dispatch of Aid, Rescue Teams to Türkiye, Syria

An aerial picture shows rescuers searching the rubble of buildings for casualties and survivors in the village of Salqin in Syria's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province at the border with Türkiye following an earthquake, on February 7, 2023. (AFP)
An aerial picture shows rescuers searching the rubble of buildings for casualties and survivors in the village of Salqin in Syria's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province at the border with Türkiye following an earthquake, on February 7, 2023. (AFP)
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Saudi Leadership Orders Dispatch of Aid, Rescue Teams to Türkiye, Syria

An aerial picture shows rescuers searching the rubble of buildings for casualties and survivors in the village of Salqin in Syria's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province at the border with Türkiye following an earthquake, on February 7, 2023. (AFP)
An aerial picture shows rescuers searching the rubble of buildings for casualties and survivors in the village of Salqin in Syria's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province at the border with Türkiye following an earthquake, on February 7, 2023. (AFP)

The Saudi leadership ordered on Tuesday the dispatch of aid to Türkiye and Syria in wake of the devastating earthquake that has left thousands of people dead and injured.

Saudi Arabia will send rescue teams and open an air bridge to send urgent medical and humanitarian aid.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, offered their sincere condolences to Türkiye and Syria, their government and people, wishing the injured the speedy recovery.

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) will launch the air bridge that will provide aid in health, housing and food to help ease the impact of the tragedy on the Turkish and Syrian people.

It will also launch a donation campaign through the Sahem platform to help the victims.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabiah, adviser to the Royal Court and General Supervisor of KSrelief, expressed his gratitude to the Saudi leadership for its noble gesture, which he said is an extension of Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian role in standing by those in need across the globe.



Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa received a delegation from Bahrain on Wednesday and met with the Bahraini foreign minister, state media reported.

The visit was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic overtures by Arab countries to Syria’s new leaders after they overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.

Like other Gulf countries, Bahrain had cut off diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad’s rule during the Syrian civil war, but it reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018 and gradually restored ties with the Assad government.

Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit, and days after Assad’s ouster it had sent a message to al-Sharaa offering its cooperation with the new authorities and saying, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.”