Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar invited his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos to Türkiye, media outlets reported on Thursday. Panagiotopoulos is scheduled to travel to Türkiye next Tuesday and his first stopover will be Hatay, the southern province which was among the worst-hit in Feb. 6 earthquakes.
Two ministers are expected to hold talks in Hatay. They last held talks on Mar. 9 on phone and agreed upon developing a bilateral agenda based on good neighborly relations.
Though Greece and Türkiye have strained relations, “earthquake diplomacy” in February unexpectedly turned the ties around. Greece was among the first responders to Türkiye’s call for assistance to the international community in the aftermath of the “disaster of the century” which claimed thousands of lives. Soon after, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias paid a rare visit to Türkiye where he met his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and toured the disaster zone. Greece pledged to contribute more to relief efforts while two ministers pledged to improve ties.
