Wildfires in Turkey reach new residential areas
August 4, 2021, 1:43 am

Wildfires in Turkey

The Xinhua news agency reported that wildfires in Turkey's southwestern province of Mugla reached several new residential areas on Tuesday, prompting new evacuations.

Footage aired by local media showed the flames engulfed homes in several neighborhoods of the Milas district.

A resident of the Turkevleri neighborhood, named Firat, said on his social media account, "In Milas, the wind is so strong that it took only 15 minutes for the fire to burn a small settlement of 30 houses."

Firat added that he and other residents were evacuated by Coast Guard boats. Milas Mayor Muhammet Tokat announced that the blaze is now threatening a thermal power plant that provides electricity to the region.

"I didn't want to say this, but the thermal power plant and the fire came face to face for the first time," Tokat said on Twitter.

In some parts of Bodrum, one of the main tourist attractions of Mugla, the situation is still worrying. The flames have reached an important highway, disrupting local traffic.

Meanwhile, Fahrettin Altun, communication director of the Turkish presidency, said Turkey has controlled 147 of 156 fires in the last seven days, and nine of the blazes continue.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in the southern Antalya province that the wind is very strong in the region, and the situation will be critical on Wednesday as well.

For the last week, Turkey has been battling massive wildfires that erupted in the southern and southwestern coastal resort towns. The blazes have claimed eight lives so far.

Source: xinhua
Image source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.