Merve Aydogan
20 March 2023•Update: 20 March 2023
ANKARA
Türkiye and Greece on Monday agreed to support each other's candidacy bids on international platforms.
In a joint press conference in Brussels on the sidelines of an international donors' conference, the Turkish and Greek foreign ministers held a one-on-one meeting and pledged to maintain solidarity after powerful earthquakes in southern Türkiye and a fatal train accident in Greece.
"I'm very happy that we have a much better atmosphere in our relations, that positive atmosphere reflected in our cooperation in the international platforms," Türkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
Announcing the two agreements between the two countries, Cavusoglu also said continuing such cooperation on international platforms would reflect on their bilateral relations.
"We agreed to meet soon again, I will be very happy to host you in Türkiye," he told his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias.
The Turkish minister also thanked Athens for its support and solidarity after twin back-to-back earthquakes struck Türkiye's southern regions last month.
"You were so kind to visit us personally and we had a tour in Hatay region," Cavusoglu said, adding that Türkiye was "also naturally in solidarity with Greece and Greek people" after the terrible train accident" near the northern town of Tempi on Feb. 28 that claimed at least 57 lives.
On Feb. 6, magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 provinces — Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa — in southern Türkiye and claimed the lives of at least 50,096 people.
More than 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the devastating quakes, as well as many others in northern Syria.
Citing Türkiye's decision to transfer a Greek prisoner to Greece to attend his son's funeral after the deadly train accident, Cavusoglu said his country did not "hesitate" to make such decision as it was a "sign of trust."
For his part, Greek Foreign Minister Dendias described his meeting with Cavusoglu as "a very constructive" one.
Dendias thanked Cavusoglu for being the first minister to call after the accident in Tempi and offer his and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's condolences, along with any help, if needed.
"I also had the opportunity to thank him because of the prisoner in Turkish jail that Türkiye sent to Greece to attend the funeral of his son after the tragedy in Tempi," he added.
Dendias further expressed gratitude to his Turkish counterpart for announcing Türkiye's support to Greece "in its campaign for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council 2025-2026."
"I also had the opportunity to inform my colleague that Greece will support Türkiye's candidacy for the position of secretary general of the IMO (International Maritime Organization)," Dendias added.
