Earthquake diplomacy: Greek foreign minister visits Turkey

By DEMETRIS NELLAS
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s foreign minister is visiting the earthquake-stricken areas of Turkey, accompanied by his Turkish counterpart. The visit is part of a new round of so-called “earthquake diplomacy” between the two uneasy allies, whose relations have often been frosty, if not downright hostile. Something similar happened when quakes struck both in Turkey and in Greece in 1999, three years after the two countries almost went to war over two uninhabited islets in the Aegean Sea. A video showed the two ministers embracing warmly at the airport, belying months of frosty relations and barbed exchanges between the two countries.