Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis is the latest official from Türkiye's western neighbor to visit the country. Mitarakis announced that he plans to travel to Türkiye this week; at the same time, Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos is also expected to be in the country.
Mitarakis said he planned to tour the earthquake-hit region around Hatay province along with Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on Tuesday. Panagiotopoulos had earlier announced that he would hold talks with Defense Minister Hulusi Akar in Türkiye on the same day.
Observers have witnessed attempts to defuse mutual tensions by the two NATO members since a series of devastating earthquakes hit southeastern Türkiye in early February. They said Greek assistance to its eastern neighbor had contributed to the improved relations. "Ankara has adopted a completely different tone," Greece's Kathimerini newspaper said on Sunday.
Conflicts over sovereignty and natural gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean have troubled relations in the past. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly warned Greece about a military operation in the Greek islands Türkiye accused Greece of armament.
"The easing of tensions is noticeable," Panagiotopoulos told Greek television broadcaster Mega. He noted that there had been no overflights by Turkish combat jets over the Greek islands in the Aegean in February and March. Last year, Turkish jets overflew Greek territory 234 times, according to the Greek Defense Ministry, in acts they claim as a severe violation of sovereignty. Türkiye refutes allegations repeatedly and says jets fly in international or Turkish territorial waters.
Territorial and energy disputes have exacerbated the regional rivalry between the two countries. Still, the two neighbors, which lie on seismic fault lines, also have a tradition of helping each other in natural disasters. For example, the Greek government sent 80 tons of medical and first aid equipment to Türkiye in the aftermath of the Feb. 6 earthquakes.
"The presence of Dendias here today shows the solidarity of the Greek government and people with Türkiye. Greece was one of the first countries to call us (for condolences) and extend humanitarian support in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said as he accompanied his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias at the disaster zone about a week after the earthquakes.
"They immediately sent search and rescue crews and several planes loaded with humanitarian aid. We met the Greek search and rescue team here, and they have worked nonstop since they arrived here. We witnessed how they and the entire Greek nation were overjoyed when a victim is rescued alive," he said.
The Turkish foreign minister said harsh times prove the goodness of neighbors, citing Greek aid after the 1999 earthquake and subsequent Turkish aid to another earthquake that struck Greece shortly after the 1999 disaster in Türkiye. "I remember seeing a feature story in Time magazine back then, and I penned a reader's letter to them. In my letter back then, I said that we don't have to wait for a disaster to hit one of us to improve our relations," he recounted.
"I hope we turn to dialogue to resolve our differences. I am grateful to my friend Dendias, the Greek government and the people of Greece for their support," the minister said.
Dendias has reiterated Greece's condolences for the victims and good wishes for survivors and thanked Çavuşoğlu for his pleasant words for Greece and its rescue crews. "We visited crews, including those from Austria and the Netherlands. Together with Greek crews, European teams rescued 205 people here," he said. The Greek foreign minister pledged that Greek support for Türkiye will "not end here." "Our Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis instructed us to continue it," he said.