US lawmakers thank Turkey for virus aid in letter

WASHINGTON

Co-Chairs of the Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans sent a thank you letter Monday to Turkey's envoy over Ankara's medical aid to help the US fight the global coronavirus pandemic.

They include Republican Congressmen Joe Wilson and Steve Chabot and Democratic Congressmen Gerald Connolly and Steve Cohen.

Two planes landed in Maryland last week carrying hundreds of thousands of surgical masks, thousands of overalls, face shields, N95 masks and goggles as well as hundreds of gallons of disinfectant to combat the coronavirus

Congressman Wilson said he is "grateful to our NATO ally Turkey” and Ambassador Serdar Kilic for their generosity.

"Through this continued collaboration, we will protect the citizens of Turkey and America from the devastation of this pandemic," he said.

Congressman Chabot said the medical gear from Turkey will help keep American frontline healthcare professionals safe as they fight the pandemic.

Congressmen Connolly and Cohen also thanked Turkey for the much-needed medical supplies and called for global cooperation against the virus.

"Our NATO allies stand shoulder to shoulder with us on the battlefield, and I am glad that they are doing so in this battle as well," said Cohen.

The Turkish envoy thanked them in turn for the letter and underlined the cooperation between allies against challenges.

"As You have underlined, we are key Allies and should stand by each other to defat all the challenges we are faced with. Fight against COVİD-19 is not an exception. #StrongerTogether," Kilic tweeted.

The first shipment on Wednesday brought 500,000 surgical masks, 4,000 overalls, 2,000 liters of disinfectant, 1,500 goggles, 400 N95 masks and 500 face shields.

Turkey has helped at least 57 countries, including Italy, Spain and the UK, and remains the world's third-largest provider of humanitarian aid during the pandemic.

The pandemic has killed more than 68,000 people in the US, with the total number of infections exceeding 1.1 million.