Iran Press/ Europe: Russia has been providing support to Syria via various channels and will continue doing so, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured on Friday.
"The Syrian Arab Republic is a sovereign country, and they make independent decisions on the functioning of the border, given the force majeure caused by the devastating earthquake," Peskov said.
Asked about whether Russia engaged with the Syrian authorities on humanitarian aid and if Moscow insisted that Damascus should open its borders for international humanitarian organizations to access earthquake-hit areas, he said: "As for our country, we, you know, are currently providing assistance to our Syrian friends through various agencies and we will continue to do so."
The death toll from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake and its aftershocks, which struck the southeastern region of Turkey along the border with Syria, has risen to over 22,500.
At least 19,388 deaths have been reported in Turkey, while 3,377 people have died in Syria. The death toll is likely to keep rising.
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