Dendias’ visit to earthquake-hit Antioch earlier this morning seems to have put the “earthquake diplomacy” between Greece and Turkey back on track. The symbolism of the warm embrace that the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers had at the airport in Adana was high, while their statements showed that Athens and Ankara are possibly willing to move to a new phase of bilateral relations – without this meaning that the gap it is easy to bridge and the neighbour’s belligerent “cries” are… so easily forgotten.

The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, however, after the completion of the express visit of his Greek counterpart, wrote on his personal account on Twitter: “I thanked Nikos Dendias, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, for the support and solidarity of the Greek state and the Greek people after the earthquake disaster. Greece was one of the first countries to offer aid to Turkey. In these difficult times, a neighbor who lends a helping hand is a true neighbor.”

Thanked #NikosDendias, FM of #Greece, for the support & solidarity of Greek state&people after the #earthquake disaster. Greece was one of the first countries to offer aid to Türkiye.

In these difficult times, a neighbor extending a helping hand is a true neighbor.????

?Hatay pic.twitter.com/BrSDp3Rno0

— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) February 12, 2023

Earlier, from Antioch, the two ministers had agreed that “we should not wait for an earthquake to improve our relations”. “The presence of Nikos Dendias here today shows the support and solidarity of the Greek people towards the Turks “, said Mr. Tsavousoglou.

The Turkish Foreign Minister made special reference to the solidarity of Greece that was manifested immediately after the earthquake. “Greece was one of the first countries to contact the Turkish authorities immediately after the earthquake to wish them well and to state that they are ready to help. They immediately sent rescue crews and many aircraft with humanitarian aid to the earthquake-stricken areas,” he said, recalling the visit of the Minister of Civil Protection, Christos Stylianidis.

In his own “tweet” after the visit to Antioch, which was particularly affected by the devastating 7.8 Richter earthquake last Monday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, wrote that he agreed with his Turkish counterpart that “we do not need to wait for natural disasters to improve our relations”.

Μετέφερα στον @MevlutCavusoglu τα ειλικρινή συλλυπητήρια Κυβέρνησης & λαού της ?? για τις χιλιάδες απώλειες συνανθρώπων μας στην ?? & την υπερηφάνεια μου για τους διασώστες μας. Συμφώνησα ότι δε χρειάζεται να περιμένουμε φυσικές καταστροφές για να βελτιώσουμε τις σχέσεις μας. pic.twitter.com/Udqa5JHPVJ

— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) February 12, 2023

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