ANKARA

Greece has shown strong solidarity with Türkiye which was hit by two deadly quakes on Monday.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was among the first leaders who called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convey condolences and support for the Turkish state and nation.

In an exclusive interview he gave to CNN International on Tuesday, he said: “Look, I think in these times of crisis, what is important to understand is that at the end of the day, we are neighbors and we need to help each other through difficult times.”

“And again, I will repeat to you what I’ve said publicly, that Greek and Turkish people are friends. We may have our differences politically, but at the end of the day, we have nothing to separate from the Turkish people,” Mitsotakis said.

When specifically asked about the striking image showing a seven-year-old Turkish girl who was saved by Greek rescue teams, Mitsotakis said: "And at the end of the day, I can’t imagine of a more powerful image than the image - maybe you have shown - of a Greek rescuer and a Turkish rescuer saving a seven-year-old girl. These are very powerful images and build bridges between our people."

On Thursday, when he spoke to the press in Brussels he reiterated that Greece will stand by Türkiye.

President Katerina Sakellaropoulou also called Erdogan to convey her condolences.

Similarly, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Monday called his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to express his sympathy and solidarity with Türkiye.

The same day, he instructed the Greek Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva to contact the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA) to determine Greece’s emergency contribution to address the consequences of the earthquakes and provide humanitarian assistance, through OHCA.

Accordingly, Greece was among the first countries again that sent rescue teams to contribute to the relief efforts in the quake-hit provinces in southern Türkiye.

A total of 21 rescuers of the elite EMAK team with two special dogs arrived in Türkiye on Monday, which was followed by 18 more rescuers on Wednesday.

On early Thursday, two of the five flights carrying Greek humanitarian aid, which will consist of 7,500 blankets, 1,500 beds, and 500 tents, among other stuff arrived at the airport of Adana.