Greek Foreign Minister Arrives in Turkey to Support It

“When adversity comes, hatred goes away.” This is shown by the positions of countries, the most recent of which is Greece, whose Foreign Minister arrived in Turkey to support it after the earthquake.

At the forefront of my reception was the Greek Foreign Minister, Níkos Déndias, who arrived in Adana province in southern Turkey to visit the sites affected by the earthquake, his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Reasons for Disagreement

Tensions have been simmering between Turkey and Greece, against a backdrop of decades-long disagreements over issues including the boundaries of their respective continental shelves, overflights of the Aegean Sea and the island of Cyprus.

Greece recently escalated against Turkey, after the latter sent letters to NATO and the UN complaining about what it called “inflammatory” statements made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and asking them to denounce Ankara’s behavior.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Greece of “taking control” of islands in the Aegean under Greek sovereignty, but Athens cannot deploy soldiers there under treaties concluded at the end of World War I.

But Greek Prime Minister Kyriákos Mitsotákis later confirmed that his country was “ready to negotiate with Ankara, always open to debate and dialog.”