Estonia exploring ways to help earthquake victims in Turkey

TALLINN – In a phone call on Monday, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu expressed his condolences to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu regarding the earthquake that hit Turkey in the early morning.

"Today, I called my Turkish colleague Mevlut Cavusoglu to express my condolences to him and to the whole of Turkey for those killed in the earthquake and offered him all possible support and assistance," Reinsalu said.

According to the Turkish foreign minister, Turkey currently needs urgent help in rescuing the victims of the earthquake, providing treatment to them and eliminating the damage.

"I forwarded to him the message that we will find out about our possibilities and do our part to help Turkey," Reinsalu said.

A powerful earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, killing more than 1,400 people.

The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.8 and its center was located near the Turkish city of Gaziantep. The earthquake was followed by a few dozen aftershocks, the most powerful of which had a magnitude of 6.6.

The earthquake flattened entire blocks in Turkey's major cities in the restive region that is home to millions of war refugees.