The government gave few details of the operation which was first announced by the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan.
Armenia’s Interior Ministry released later in the evening photographs of members of the national Rescue Service boarding a cargo plane along with their heavy equipment in the presence of Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian discussed the assistance with Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Bashar al-Assad of Syria during separate phone conversations. He offered his condolences to the two men.
An Armenian government statement said Pashinian told Erdogan that an Armenian rescue team is about to fly to Turkey. According to the statement, Erdogan thanked Yerevan for the support and said it will contribute to “further dialogue” between the two neighboring states that have no diplomatic relations.
Syria - People gather on the rubble as the search for survivors continues, in the aftermath of the earthquake in Aleppo, February 7, 2023.
A separate statement on Pashinian’s call with al-Assad said the two leaders agreed that “Armenia will send food, as a priority, as well as other types of aid to Syria.”
“Bashar al-Assad thanked [Pashinian] for the support and noted that the primary problem for them at the moment is related to food,” said the statement.
At least four Syrian Armenians and three Turkish citizens of Armenian descent reportedly died in Monday’s earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. The disaster sparked a massive international response, with teams flying in from around the world to help with rescue efforts.