Despite the tense relations between Athens and Ankara at the moment after the latter's continual attempt to steal oil and gas from Greece's continental shelf, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias has offered to send rescue personnel to Smyrni (Σμύρνη, Turkish: İzmir) on the Turkish mainland.
"After the earthquake that hit Samos and Smyrni, the Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias contacted his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and expressed the readiness of Greek government to send rescue personnel to Turkey immediately to help free trapped citizens," the Greek Foreign Ministry announced in a tweet.
Μετά τον σεισμό που έπληξε Σάμο & Σμύρνη,ο ΥΠΕΞ @NikosDendias επικοινώνησε με Τούρκο ομόλογό του M.Cavusoglu & εξέφρασε ετοιμότητα Ελληνικής κυβέρνησης να αποσταλούν άμεσα δυνάμεις της ΕΜΑΚ στην Τουρκία για να βοηθήσουν σε απεγκλωβισμό παγιδευμένων πολιτών
— Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (@GreeceMFA) October 30, 2020
A powerful earthquake with its epicenter to the north of Samos and estimated to be 6.6 on the Richter scale rocked both Greece and Turkey earlier today, as reported by Greek City Times.
The devastation was so large that the Panagia Theotokou Church in Karlovasi partially collapsed.
In addition to the assistance offered by Dendias, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reached out to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to offer condolences.
"I just called President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to offer my condolences for the tragic loss of life from the earthquake that struck both our countries. Whatever our differences, these are times when our people need to stand together," he said on Twitter.
I just called President @RTErdogan to offer my condolences for the tragic loss of life from the earthquake that struck both our countries. Whatever our differences, these are times when our people need to stand together.
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) October 30, 2020
