Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has spoken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the phone to express Greece’s readiness to contribute to relief efforts after two deadly earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria on Monday.
During the phone call, Mitsotakis also expressed his grief and shared with Erdogan the condolences of the Greek government and people for the tragic loss of life.
According to Ekathimerini, Erdogan thanked the Greek Prime Minister for his solidarity and the immediate assistance.
Mitsotakis had already mobilised an EMAK disaster response team to assist Turkey with rescue efforts. 25 rescuers trained in searching for people under rubble, two rescue dogs and a purpose-built vehicle left Elefsina military airport for Turkey on Monday.
This support comes after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck south-east Türkiye and Syria on Monday, levelling buildings in both countries, and killing over 2,600 people and injuring over 11,000.
Another earthquake measuring magnitude 7.7 struck central Turkey following the initial quake, with the Syrian capital of Damascus also hit.
Erdogan said the first earthquake was the strongest since December 1939, when a magnitude 7.8 tremor struck the country’s north-east.
Source: Ekathimerini and ABC News.
