Usa news: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive on Sunday in Turkey for an official visit and discuss how Washington can further assist Ankara as it grapples with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey’s southeast and neighboring Syria on Feb. 6, killing more than 45,000 people and leaving over a million people homeless along with an economic cost expected to run into billions of dollars.

Also topping the agenda will be the stalled NATO bids of Sweden and Finland, which Turkey has so far refused to ratify, saying Stockholm in particular has harbored what it calls members of terrorist groups. Ankara has recently indicated it would approve only Finland.

The top US diplomat will land at Incirlik Air Base in the southern province of Adana, from where he will take a helicopter tour of the quake-struck area. He will then hold bilateral talks on Monday with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.