UPDATE - Türkiye hopes for Aegean, Mediterranean to be 'sea of friendship': Defense chief

UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES FROM TURKISH, GREEK DEFENSE CHIEFS

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye on Tuesday expressed its desire to make the Aegean and Mediterranean "seas of friendship and solidarity," according to the country's defense chief.

Hulusi Akar in a joint news conference with his Greek counterpart Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos in the quake-hit southern Hatay province said Türkiye is "striving" to have good relations with its neighbor Greece.

There are some "problems" between the two countries, Akar said, noting: "As two civilized countries, Türkiye and Greece can address these problems in line with a spirit of alliances, via a peaceful manner, mutual respect, and dialogue."

"We believe that this would be mutually beneficial," he said.

He said the problems and the friendship of the two countries, who are neighbors at each side of the Aegean, are "multidimensional."

Türkiye expects the continuation of the current attitude, positive and constructive atmosphere that came to the fore after the massive earthquakes, Akar said, also urging to keep the doors of dialogue open.

"It is our sincere desire that the Aegean and the Mediterranean will now truly become a sea of friendship, with the emergence of permanent cooperation. Thus, our keynote, desire, and wish is that the people living in Türkiye and Greece live in comfort, security, and prosperity," he added.

The Turkish minister further thanked his Greek counterpart and his country for the solidarity and "close interest" shown after the earthquakes.

For his part, Panagiotopoulos also voiced the will to establish stability in bilateral relations, and said tragedies such as earthquakes show "how small" the existing problems are between Greece and Türkiye.

"When observed from another perspective, we see that these tragedies and disasters actually act as a catalyst in terms of reducing tensions," he added.

The Greek minister also expressed readiness to "do their best" to further the stability, solidarity, and cooperation between Türkiye and Greece "within the means possible."

"The world has been facing challenges in terms of security recently," he also stressed, adding that the two countries must work together against such security challenges.

On Feb. 6, magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 Turkish provinces. Around 14 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the quakes.