Post-earthquake aid on top of Blinken's agenda in visit to Türkiye

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due in Türkiye to discuss how Washington can further assist Ankara as it grapples with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people.

The top US diplomat is expected to land at Incirlik Air Base on Sunday 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.

Two powerful earthquakes struck Türkiye's southeast and neighbouring Syria on February 6, killing more than 46,000 people and leaving over a million people homeless along with an economic cost expected to run into billions of dollars.

Blinken is also expected to meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, sources familiar with the planning said.

Since the earthquake, the United States has sent a search and rescue team to Türkiye, medical supplies, concrete-breaking machinery, and additional funding of $85 million in humanitarian aid that also covers Syria.

Blinken's first visit to Turkey as secretary of state has been in the works for some time but comes two years after he took office, in stark contrast with some of his predecessors including Hillary Clinton and Rex Tillerson, who made the visit within the first three months of their terms.

READ MORE: Top US diplomat to pledge quake support on maiden Türkiye trip

NATO Deadlock

Also topping the agenda will be the stalled NATO bids of Sweden and Finland, which Türkiye has yet to ratify.

Sweden and Finland applied last year to join the trans-Atlantic defense pact after Russia invaded Ukraine, but faced objections from Türkiye and have since sought to win its support.

Ankara wants Helsinki and Stockholm in particular to take a tougher line against the PKK and FETO terrorist groups.

In January, Erdogan said he was open to ratifying only Helsinki's application.

Linked to the membership bids is Türkiye's desire to buy US-made F-16 fighter jets.

On Saturday, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen has urged Türkiye to approve the the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland.

The Biden administration has repeatedly said it supports the sale and while it has refrained from linking the two issues, it has acknowledged that the approval for the Nordic countries would have a positive impact among members of the US Congress, which has the power to approve the sale.

Türkiye has expressed its frustration that the issues are seen as increasingly linked. 

Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan's chief foreign policy advisor, said last month he hoped the F-16 deal would not become "hostage" to the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland.

READ MORE: Outpouring of support from international celebrities after twin quakes