Monitoring Desk
ANTAKYA: Greece’s foreign minister on Sunday visited Turkiye in a show of support after the country was hit by a powerful earthquake last Monday, despite a prolonged rivalry between the two NATO members.
Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was warmly embraced by his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, according to footage on state-run TRT TV, before they boarded helicopters to earthquake-hit regions.
Dendias’ arrival marks the first visit by a European minister to Turkiye since the earthquake.
“I convey to the Turkish people and the Turkish leadership the warmest condolences of the Greece government and the entire Greek people for the losses after the two massive earthquakes”, Dendias said during a press conference with Cavusoglu in Antakya, referring to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“This shows the solidarity of Greek people with Turkiye and the Turkish population. Greece was one of the first nations to call and propose help to Turkiye after the earthquake,” Cavusoglu added.
Greece and Turkiye have a history of rivalry going back centuries, but it has been exacerbated by energy and territorial disputes — and more recently by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threats of invasion.
But the two neighbours, which lie on seismic fault lines, also have a tradition of helping each other in natural disasters.
No need to wait for another quake for develop relations
Cavusoglu recalled mutual aid when quakes struck Turkiye and Greece in 1999 when he said, “We do not have to wait for another earthquake to develop our relations.”
“I said this as a simple citizen back then, but I think the same today as Turkey’s foreign minister,” he said. “I hope we will make efforts to find a solution to our disagreements with sincere dialogue.”
Dendias also said, “We do not need to wait for natural disasters to improve our relations, ” while adding that Greece’s effort to help Turkey would continue.
The Greek government has so far dispatched 80 tonnes of medical and first aid equipment and rescuers that, along with the rest of the European rescuers, have saved 205 people, Dendias said.
“Greece will do everything it can to support Turkey at this difficult time, either bilaterally or within the EU,” he said.
