Exploratory talks and confidence-building measures were proposed by the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaking to Greek journalists, speaking with warm words about Greece on the occasion of the immediate aid after the deadly earthquake.

“Greece was one of the first countries to extend its support to Turkey and sent search and rescue teams and emergency medical teams,” emphasized Mr. Tsavousoglou and called Nikos Dendias a “friend”.

“My friend Nikos Dendias came to Hatay and we saw how devastating was the earthquake in the ten provinces, basically at eleven, but especially in Hatay. We thank all the Greek teams and our friends there from the various countries for their support. Greeks also actually expressed their support and solidarity, we also saw the TV programs. In the past we also supported each other. I mean as neighbors, we supported each other as people and states whenever we faced such crises, disasters. Yes, we had disagreements, we had pending issues from time to time and unfortunately we had escalations. But as we discussed with Nikos Dendias, I think there should be a de-escalation and we should not wait for another disaster to work together”. said the Turkish Foreign Minister.

Speaking about the background of the meeting between İbrahim Kalin, Tayyip Erdoğan’s advisor, and Anna-Maria Boura, director of the Diplomatic Office of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed three of the six points of the Turkish proposal, which is the continuation of exploratory contacts , the discussion on confidence-building measures (CBMs) and the continuation of military talks in the framework of NATO.