On Wednesday, the Syrian government formally requested assistance from the European Union (EU) in the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit both Syria and Turkey earlier this week, according to the EU’s Commissioner for Crisis Management.

Janez Lenarcic, the commissioner, stated that the European Commission is urging EU member states to provide medical supplies and food in response to Syria’s appeal.

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He also mentioned that the European Commission would closely monitor the distribution of aid to prevent it from being redirected by the sanctioned government in Damascus.

The European Union promptly dispatched rescue teams to Turkey after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near the Syria-Turkey border on Monday.

However, the EU initially offered only limited aid to Syria through existing humanitarian programs due to sanctions imposed on the government of President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 for its repression of protesters, which escalated into a civil war.

Despite this, the EU stated that it was open to providing assistance to Syria in response to their request for aid in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Following Syria’s official request for help through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism that coordinates aid, Lenarcic stated that the European Commission is now encouraging European countries to respond positively to this request.

It is pertinent to mention here that the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is comprised of 27 EU member countries and 8 non-EU neighboring nations, such as Norway and Turkey.