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Turkiye ready to do whatever it can to help Greece fight wildfires: President Erdogan

July 24, 2023 at 9:07 pm

Firefighters extinguish a house burning during a wildfire in southeast Attica in Lagonisi, Greece on 17, July 2023 [Dimitris Lampropoulos – Anadolu Agency]

Turkiye is ready to do whatever it can to help Greece fight back its wildfires, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“We sent two amphibious fire-fighting aircraft and a fire-fighting helicopter to our neighbour, Greece, (which is) struggling with a huge fire,” Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting in the capital, Ankara.

While quickly responding to fires in Turkiye, Erdogan said the country is also rushing to help out other countries in need.

“We convey our best wishes to our Greek neighbours, especially the people of Rhodes,” he added, referring to the island off south-western Turkiye, which has had to evacuate tens of thousands amid days of wildfires.

Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Saturday thanked Turkiye for assistance, as it has struggled to fight raging wildfires since last week.

Devastating wildfires continue to sweep through the Greek islands for the sixth consecutive day, including Rhodes, a tourist hotspot. Several countries, including Turkiye, have reached out to help Greece in extinguishing the blazes, which have burned houses and forests.

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