Description

Greek–Turkish earthquake diplomacy is a phenomenon that has existed with notability since the summer of 1999, when Greece and Turkey were hit by successive earthquakes. It began with a generous Greek relief effort in Turkey following the İzmit earthquake on 17 August. Less than a month later, on 7 September, the Athens earthquake occurred and was met with a similarly generous Turkish relief effort in Greece. Prior to these mutual efforts, Greece–Turkey relations were generally marked by near-constant hostility stemming from the Istanbul pogrom of 1955. The magnanimous development of "earthquake diplomacy" between the two countries generated an outpouring of sympathy and assistance provided by ordinary Greeks and Turks in both cases; such acts were encouraged from the top and took many foreigners by surprise. They prepared the public for a breakthrough in bilateral ties, which had been marred by decades of diplomatic tension and, in the case of Cyprus, armed conflict.