Türkiye, Greece to back each other’s candidacy bids on int’l platforms

Türkiye and Greece have agreed to collaborate diplomatically and to assist one another’s candidacy bids on worldwide platforms.

In a joint press convention in Brussels on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias pledged to take care of solidarity after highly effective earthquakes in southern Türkiye and a deadly practice accident in Greece.

READ MORE: Tens of hundreds of protesters conflict with police over Greece practice crash

“I’m very happy that we have much better atmosphere in our relations, that positive atmosphere reflected in our cooperation in the international platforms,” Cavusoglu mentioned after holding a one-on-one assembly with Dendias on the sidelines of a world donors’ convention.

Announcing the 2 agreements between the 2 nations, Cavusoglu additionally mentioned persevering with such cooperation on worldwide platforms would replicate on their bilateral relations.

“We agreed to meet soon again, I will be very happy to host you in Türkiye,” he instructed Dendias.

Cavusoglu additionally thanked Athens for its assist and solidarity after twin back-to-back earthquakes struck Türkiye’s southern areas final month.

‘Constructive’ assembly

“You were so kind to visit us personally and we had a tour in Hatay region,” Cavusoglu mentioned, including that Türkiye was “also naturally in solidarity with Greece and Greek people” after the horrible practice accident” near the northern town of Tempi on February 28 that claimed at least 57 lives.

On February 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 a decision as it was a “signal of belief.”

For his part, Dendias described his meeting with Cavusoglu as “a really 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 additionally had the chance to thank him due to the prisoner in Turkish jail that Türkiye despatched 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 marketing campaign for a non-permanent seat within the United Nations Security Council 2025-2026.”

“I additionally had the chance to tell my colleague that Greece will assist Türkiye’s candidacy for the place of secretary basic of the IMO (International Maritime Organization),” Dendias added.

READ MORE:
Death toll from February earthquakes in Türkiye tops grim mark of fifty,000