President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Kyriakos Mitsotakis on his re-election as Greece's Prime Minister in a phone call held on Monday, the Presidential Communications Directorate said, reports TurkicWorld with reference to Daily Sabah.
Erdoğan told Mitsotakis that he hopes the new era will be beneficial for Türkiye-Greece relations.
Mitsotakis' office said that the two leaders will meet on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Vilnius next month.
Mitsotakis was sworn in for a second term as Greek prime minister after a repeat election.
He had already won the election in May but refused to form a coalition government, which forced the country to hold another vote.
Despite a history of rivalry with Türkiye that goes back centuries, Greece was among the first European countries to send rescue workers and humanitarian aid on Feb. 6, a few hours after the disaster. Then-Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was one of the first foreign ministers to visit Türkiye after the disaster and received a warm welcome when he met then-Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, reiterating his country's support for the earthquake relief.
Territorial and energy disputes have exacerbated regional tension. Still, the two neighbors, both situated on seismic fault lines, also have a tradition of helping each other in natural disasters.
Thousands of Greeks have responded to calls for aid to quake-hit Türkiye, reviving memories of how a spontaneous outpouring of help after a similar disaster in 1999 brought the neighbors together when they seemed to be on the brink of war.
The earthquakes also prompted the first contact between Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis and President Erdoğan following a row.
Erdoğan had said Mitsotakis “no longer exists” for him after the latter’s remarks and criticism of Türkiye during his trip to the United States last year.
On March 20, Çavuşoğlu and Dendias met in Brussels and pledged mutual support. They agreed that Türkiye would support Greece's campaign for a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council in 2025-2026. Likewise, Athens will support Ankara's candidacy for secretary general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Officials on both sides have been hailing “a positive atmosphere” taking over bilateral relations between the sides since the tragedy struck. While it’s unclear whether the breaking of ice could reach political levels, officials express it “should be considered for the normalization of ties."
