Visiting the region, Greek foreign minister on Sunday stressed the scale of the damage from last week’s earthquakes in southern Türkiye.

“This is totally devastating” Nikos Dendias told Anadolu Agency.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias’ remarks came after he and his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Hatay, Türkiye’s southernmost province, and one that suffered extensive damage from the quakes.

“Türkiye and Greece should not wait for another earthquake to smooth ties,” Dendias told a joint press briefing with Çavuşoğlu.

After Dendias left for Adana Airport – in another affected province – Çavuşoğlu hailed the Greek foreign minister’s visit, meant to show solidarity with Türkiye despite tensions between the two countries, as “significant.”

“There might be problems between countries,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters and added “we have had unresolved issues with Greece for a while. Sometimes we see tensions, but we have always been two countries that come together during difficult times.”