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Could the devastating earthquake thaw relations between Turkey and Greece?

2023-02-17 18:48:18Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Could the devastating earthquake thaw relations between Turkey and Greece?
Could the devastating earthquake thaw relations between Turkey and Greece?

The devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey last week triggered significant changes in Turkey's relations with Greece, as the waters at the heart of decades-old disputes between the two countries became channels for expressions of solidarity.

Greek volunteers have rushed to Turkey to help search for survivors trapped under the rubble, after the earthquake has so far left more than 44,000 dead, including 38,000 in Turkey and 5,800 in Syria, as well as extensive damage. material.

These volunteers sailed to Turkey via territorial waters in the Aegean Sea, which has been a constant source of maritime tensions between Ankara and Athens.

According to a report by the Turkish news agency Anadolu, 35 members of Greek rescue teams are currently working in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, where they arrived on Saturday evening after traveling from Athens for nearly 30 hours.

"Welcome, brothers"

The Greek team of volunteers has 11 women, one of whom is a doctor. They also have a search dog, medicine, an ambulance, seven other vehicles and a large amount of search and rescue equipment and supplies. The Turkish authorities facilitated their sea crossing via the island of Lesbos.

The volunteers boarded the ship at the port of Mytilene on the island of Lesvos, and the first message that greeted them when they arrived in Turkey was: "Welcome, brothers," according to a volunteer on the team.

Greek volunteer Kostas Tsakonas described the situation in Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the earthquake, as dire, leaving many members of the team unable to hold back tears.

The Greeks are among more than 9,400 personnel from international search and rescue teams from 77 countries who arrived in Turkey last week to join efforts to find survivors.

Territorial waters between Turkey and Greece have often witnessed tensions over maritime sovereignty, in addition to Athens repeatedly returning illegal immigrants to Turkey. However, the tragedy after the earthquake changed the climate of relations between the two countries.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received a phone call from Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during which the latter expressed his condolences for the loss of life in the earthquakes and expressed his country's solidarity with Turkey.

On Sunday, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was the first high-ranking European diplomat to visit Turkey in a show of solidarity after the earthquake disaster. He visited the southern province of Hatay, accompanied by his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, to see the aftermath of the destruction.

Dendias said that Turkey and Greece should not wait for another earthquake to remove the walls between them, while Çavuşoğlu emphasized that the visit of the Greek counterpart is important for the relations between the two countries.

The Turkish Foreign Minister said that there could be problems between the two countries and that "there are problems that we cannot solve with Greece and sometimes we witness tensions in relations. However, we have become two countries that meet in difficult times".

Previous tensions

He drew attention to the fact that in 1999 an earthquake occurred in Turkey and then in Greece, with a gap of about a month, emphasizing that both countries then rushed to help each other.

Cavusoglu recalled that at that time he wrote a letter to the American Time magazine as a Turkish citizen in which he said: "It is important that we help each other in difficult times, but we should not wait for another earthquake and another disaster to develop our relations", emphasizing that he still holds this view.

The Aegean region has witnessed tensions between Ankara and Athens over maritime jurisdiction, with Ankara earlier offering to negotiate to reach fair solutions to issues affecting the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean region.

In addition to helping Greek search and rescue teams, teams from dozens of countries rushed to participate in the search for survivors under the rubble in ten earthquake-hit provinces.


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