News brief: Earthquake aid dribbles into Turkey and Syria

                           In a reception center in Hamman, in northwestern Syria.

                           Photo: Mohanad Zayat, 

                           United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

NATO says it will help house hundreds of thousands of Turkish survivors of the February earthquakes, which killed more than 42,000 in Turkey and Syria.  Damage estimates in Turkey are $84 billion, mainly for reconstruction. There seem to be no reliable damage estimates for Syria, where the earthquakes claimed 4,000 lives.  The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated a week after the earthquakes a need for $400 million but provided no backup figures.

By and large, nations have left humanitarian policy for the February 6 and 20 earthquakes up to the United Nations, which did not begin delivering aid until three days after the initial, 7.8-magnitude earthquake. The United States Army delivered and set up tents last month for 4,000 earthquake victims in Syria, said the Central Command. NATO said it will airlift tens of thousands of tents into Turkey.

More than two million in Turkey and Syria were left homeless by the earthquakes.

Undoubtedly the aid from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will soften Turkey’s opposition to Sweden’s application to join NATO in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan objects that Sweden condones the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, which the United States and the European Union (not to mention Turkey) label as terrorist.  Erdogan approved Finland's application Friday. NATO requires consensus on new members.  

Hungary also blocks Sweden's path (as well as Finland's). Although Prime Minister Viktor Orban says he supports NATO expansion, he might well delay Hungary's vote on the two applications in hopes of arm-twisting the European Union into unblocking billions of dollars the EU is holding up to punish Budapest for corruption and misrule of law.  If NATO reaches an apparent quid pro quo with Turkey, it will likely harden Orban's resolve. – Leon Taylor, Baltimore tayloralmaty@gmail.com

Note

This update corrects the magnitude of a February 6 earthquake and makes clear that Erdogan has not yet approved Sweden's NATO application.

I thank Alison Rose for useful comments.

References

Sune Engel Rasmussen.  NATO pledges earthquake aid to Turkey.  The Wall Street Journal. February 16, 2023.  NATO Pledges Earthquake Aid to Turkey - WSJ

Ece Toksabay and Ceyda Caglayan.  Turkey's Erdogan endorses Finland's NATO bid, but Sweden must wait.  Reuters.  March 17, 2023.  Turkey's Erdogan endorses Finland's NATO bid, but Sweden must wait | Reuters