Turkey has “kindly declined” an offer by the Republic of Cyprus to assist in rescue efforts in earthquake-hit areas of the country with the deployment of a Search & Rescue team, said on Friday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a post on Twitter.

“Despite initial acceptance of our offer to assist in rescue efforts, Turkey has ‘kindly declined’ Cyprus’ offer to deploy a Search & Rescue team on the ground”, said the Foreign Ministry.

It added that Cyprus is “proud and grateful” for its Civil Protection Rescuers, who are “always ready to save lives everywhere” and noted that the assistance offer “still stands”