Turkey/ French Aid Following the Earthquake
Libya/NATO
Turkey/ French Aid Following the Earthquake
As soon as the earthquake that ravaged eastern Turkey on Sunday was announced, France offered to provide the Turkish authorities with assistance for survivors.
Given the scale of the disaster, and in the spirit of solidarity expressed yesterday in the letter Mr. Alain Juppé sent to his Turkish counterpart, we are preparing to send humanitarian assistance aircraft to bring a large batch of big, family-sized tents for people left homeless.
The Crisis Center is preparing an aircraft, which will be ready to leave Paris tomorrow bound for Erzurum, the relief logistics center, depending on the schedule set by the Turkish authorities.
The president of the NTC has called for maintaining NATO forces at least until the end of the year. What is the French position?
Libya has now been liberated to our great satisfaction. The military operation as such is coming to an end.
A transition phase is beginning during which we will consult within the UN and with our NATO and European Union partners as well as with our NTC contacts in order to respond appropriately to the latter’s requests.
As far as we are concerned, we will conduct these discussions keeping in mind the need for continuing assistance and support for Libya in this new context.