Greece pledges 'every force available' to aid Turkey

[sl8]

Just one of many countries sending aid, but this seemed especially noteworthy to me, considering their past relations.

https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1327316/greece-pledges-every-force-available-to-aid-turkey.html

Greece pledges 'every force available' to aid Turkey

AFP / 06 February 2023 16:05

Greek's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. (Credit: AFP)

Greece's prime minister on Monday pledged to make "every force available" to aid historical rival Turkey after the neighboring country was hit by a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the cabinet that Ankara had already approved the dispatch of a Greek emergency rescue squad and that Athens was ready to send "additional equipment, medical supplies, blankets, tents" depending on further Turkish requests.

The powerful earthquake, felt in Turkey and in Syria, has killed nearly 1,800 people, leveled buildings and caused tremors felt as far away as Greenland.

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First I'd heard of this; from Wikipedia:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek–Turkish_earthquake_diplomacy

Greek–Turkish earthquake diplomacy

The Greek–Turkish earthquake diplomacy (Greek: διπλωματία των σεισμών, diplomatia ton seismon; Turkish: deprem diplomasisi) was initiated after successive earthquakes hit both countries in the summer of 1999 and led to an improvement in Greek–Turkish relations. Prior to this, relations between the two countries had been generally volatile ever since Greece won its independence from the Ottoman Empire. The so-called earthquake diplomacy generated an outpouring of sympathy and generous assistance provided by ordinary Greeks and Turks in both cases. Such acts were encouraged from the top and took many foreigners by surprise. They prepared the public for a breakthrough in bilateral relations, which had been marred by decades of mutual hostility.

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2023 Kahramanmaras earthquake

Following a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Kahramanmaras, the Greek government sent a rescue squad, as well as "additional equipment, medical supplies, blankets, tents", with approval from the Turkish government.[12]

Specifically, a team of 21 firefighters, 2 rescue dogs and a special rescue vehicle were dispatched to Turkey from Elefsina on a Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Following the team was a fire brigade officer-engineer, 5 doctors and rescuers from the National Center for Emergency Care.[13]

Greek Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis phoned the Turkish president Recep Tayip Erdogan, pledging further quake-relief assistance.[14] Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Defence Minister Panos Panagiotopoulos spoke with their Turkish counterparts, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Hulusi Akar, to express their condolences and readiness for providing aid.[15][16] Greece's swift response to the humanitarian crisis in Turkey contributed to the hashtags "Teşekkürler Yunanistan" and "Teşekkürler komşu", translating into "Thank you, Greece" and "Thank you, neighbor" respectively, becoming popular on Twitter.[17]

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