Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias’ interview with STAR TV and journalist Mara Zacharea (13.02.2023)

JOURNALIST: Before we get into the political aspect of what happened over the weekend, I’d like to start on a human level. It’s one thing for us to see images of destruction on our screens and I’m sure it’s quite another to see and experience them firsthand. What feeling did it leave you with?

N. DENDIAS: With the feeling of a huge tragedy. Hatai, the city I visited, has been devastated, and it is not the only one that has been affected. Not only have most of the buildings either fallen down or tilted or have suffered enormous damage, but the whole infrastructure network, including the airport, the roads, the electricity network, the gas network, everything has suffered extensive damage. It is an inexpressible disaster and an inexpressible sadness.

JOURNALIST:  Of course, now there are the dead in the rubble, but I suppose the survivors will face extremely difficult living conditions as well.

N. DENDIAS: Absolutely, because the temperature drops dramatically at night. It is an area where temperatures drop below zero at night. They need tremendous help, winter tents as quickly as possible. A very, very large number of them. It is estimated that 65,000 tents are required. They also need containers and the capacity to house the most vulnerable and fragile part of the population. There are no more hospital beds available in the area, thus mobile hospitals need to be transported there. There’s an urgent need to support our fellow human beings in this part of the world. I have to say, of course, that I am referring to Türkiye. What I’m saying applies to Syria as well, with the added difficulty that there’s a government there with which we cannot communicate.

JOURNALIST: According to what I’ve read, the disaster area is the size of Greece and it is said that the reconstruction could take up to 20 years.

N. DENDIAS: It will take, indeed, a very long time because the networks, not just some buildings, but the entire area, have been affected. There have been two earthquakes, both exceeding 7.5 Richter, one 7.6 and the other 7.8, having, unfortunately, the added feature of being very close to the surface, just 7 km below the ground. So, first and foremost, the residents’ confidence must be restored. The people are terrified, judging by the few residents I’ve spoken with. They were terrified, and in tears, mourning the loss of their own people. Right now, their ability to live in this area is being called into doubt. The queue of vehicles leaving the area is enormous. Even Adana, a city that is quite a distance away and has suffered relatively minor damage is almost a ghost town. Its tens of thousands of residents have abandoned it.

JOURNALIST: Do aftershocks still strike?

N. DENDIAS: As I’m not a seismologist, I’ll tell you what my colleague, Mevlut Çavuşoğlu informed me: there have been 1,600 aftershocks, with one of them being over 6 Richter and unless the aftershocks stop, there is no chance people will be convinced to remain anywhere in the region.

JOURNALIST: Greece with the EMAK units was there from the very first moment. We are all proud of the images we saw. Aid relief supplies are also being collected from ordinary citizens, in Athens, Thessaloniki, in other cities. Will the State itself continue to provide assistance and if so, how? Have you discussed with your counterpart about anything in particular that they need?

N. DENDIAS: First of all, I had consulted with the Prime Minister before conveying what he had told me. Greece will continue to assist Türkiye both bilaterally with whatever resources it has available, and in the context of its own EU membership and EU Civil Protection. It goes without saying that our fellow Turks, as well as our fellow Syrians, will have our full support, to the extent we can.

Aside from that, as far as I can tell, the Turkish Government has done an adequate job, in terms of the existing needs. We will do everything we can to assist in meeting those enormous needs. But, once again, the disaster is so massive that the possibilities we currently have do not match the reality.

If I may, I’d like to add one more thing: it might make sense for a concentrated national effort, supported by you as well, so as to achieve a goal that demonstrates Greeks’ solidarity towards our fellow Turks. Perhaps an online platform; you know better than I do. But what I’d like to emphasize is the need for the entire Greek society- beyond the government, the institutions, and the NGOs – to demonstrate support for our fellow human beings across the Aegean, who are currently in enormous distress.

JOURNALIST: Let us now turn to the political aspect, to the strong message you sent. We saw you hugging Mevlut Çavuşoğlu. In recent days, we have seen, read, and heard hymns in the Turkish media, on the same channels, the same newspapers that have reported a lot of things against Greece lately. What does this mean for Greek-Turkish relations from now on? What do you expect?

N. DENDIAS: I’d like to keep the human aspect, Ms. Zacharea. I believe it’s too soon for anything else. I’d like to focus on the human aspect as well as on the opportunity for people from both countries and from both societies to feel quite close. That it took the pain of a disaster for this to happen is perhaps a signal that however serious the differences that some countries in this world may have, human pain is far greater than that. And our ability to overcome our differences will always be present as long as we have a sense of human insignificance in the face of natural disasters.

I’d like to tell you that the hug with Mevlut Çavuşoğlu, which has indeed been reported all over the world, is first and foremost about how we both feel about each other in the face of this enormous tragedy. But it also has to do with the fact that Mevlut Çavuşoğlu and I have known each other for many, many years and that is known to everyone.

JOURNALIST: But the ice has also been broken between Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Erdogan. They hadn’t spoken since last May, following Mr. Mitsotakis’ speech to the US Congress.

N. DENDIAS: I believe there is a different reality right now in terms of the climate. I’m not going to make any comparisons to the past; I have no reason to contrast either reports or attitudes to the past. Here’s a tragedy. Greece will assist Turkish society, Turkish people, Turkish and Syrian citizens, and all those who have been tested, to the best of its ability.

JOURNALIST: What’s your assessment of the Turkish elections? We knew it would be on May 14. Is that date likely to change now?

N. DENDIAS: I believe the Turkish constitution does not allow for election postponement. Of course, there will undoubtedly be some difficulties in the affected areas for Turkish society to express its opinion. But I believe the Turkish elections will be held on time.

JOURNALIST: Minister, I’d like to conclude with an image from your visit that you could share with us. An image that you felt was the most compelling. The one that shocked you the most.

N. DENDIAS: I was filled with pride because my compatriots, the EMAK rescuers who went there to help from the start, were able to save human lives under the rubble. In total, European rescuers rescued over 200 people – 205 as of yesterday afternoon; this number may have increased by one or two today as we speak. A number of these people were rescued by Greek hands and I am extremely proud of that. Also, because I want to be honest, there is a more tacit contribution, that of the three EMAK dogs who were able to find people under the rubble.