Türkiye's devastating earthquakes, which have led to the deaths of thousands, have prompted the first contact between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in months.
"On behalf of the Greek people, I extended my deepest condolences for the devastating loss of life and reiterate our readiness to provide all further assistance necessary," Mitsotakis wrote on Twitter after a phone conversation with Erdoğan, who thanked him.
Mitsotakis said Athens is "mobilizing its resources" and will offer assistance "immediately."
Greek President Katerina Sakelaropulu and Mitsotakis also called Erdoğan on the phone due to the earthquake and conveyed their condolences for those who lost their lives and wished the injured a recovery, according to the Presidency's Directorate of Communications.
Erdoğan declared almost 10 months ago that he would sever diplomatic ties with the Greek leader due to severe tensions over sovereign rights in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.
On Monday morning, Greece, however, was one of the first countries to provide aid to the people in Türkiye's earthquake region, immediately sending a rescue team with sniffer dogs to the area.
Greece’s government spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou said on Monday in a press meeting that Athens was sending A C-130 type military transport aircraft carrying 21 firefighters with expertise in search and rescue work, two special dogs, and medical and humanitarian relief material.
The team will be accompanied by some doctors and the head of Greece's Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (OASP) Efthymios Lekkas, he added.
The two NATO members had already shown solidarity with each other during severe earthquakes in Türkiye and Greece in 1999. This aid, known as "earthquake diplomacy," helped bring about a phase of detente at the time.
