The friendship between Greeks and Turks, although long debated, exists—and one of its clearest expressions came through the phenomenon of Earthquake Diplomacy.
Back in 1999, just a few years after the Imia crisis (1996) and long before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s threats that “we may come one night, suddenly” (Anadolu Agency, 2022), a Turkish citizen contacted Greek Ambassador to Ankara Ioannis Korantis with an extraordinary offer: to donate his kidney if a Greek citizen needed it. The trigger was the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Athens on September 7, 1999, killing 143 people, injuring 800, and leaving around 100,000 homeless (MASSSIVE Project, 2011).
This disaster struck less than a month after an even stronger earthquake—7.4 magnitude—in Turkey’s İzmit region, which killed 18,373 people, injured 48,901, and left 5,840 missing (BBC Türkçe, 2019). Greek authorities, citizens, and NGOs played a decisive role in search-and-rescue operations, in delivering food and medicine, and in sending aid.
When Athens was hit, Turkey immediately responded with rescue teams, medical staff, and even army units to clear rubble. Newspapers on both sides of the Aegean ran headlines such as “Thank you, neighbor” and “Brothers, you are not alone”—printed in the neighbor’s language so they needed no translation (Nachmani, 2018). These acts of solidarity—offered regardless of state-level disputes—sparked hope among citizens of both countries for peace and prosperity. They also created an invaluable legacy in the foreign policy of both neighbors, one that endures today.
The Logic of Earthquake Diplomacy
Greek–Turkish cooperation in the face of disaster pushed collaboration into areas of “low politics”—economy and trade, tourism, culture, and civil society—where neither side contested the status quo. It also reduced military tension by encouraging the gradual adoption of Confidence-Building Measures between the two armed forces (Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, n.d.).
“Earthquake Diplomacy” remains a striking example of human solidarity overriding political and diplomatic conflict. In 1999, humanitarian action fostered a sense of shared ground and necessity for cooperation, creating a bridge between two peoples long divided by tensions and disagreements (Alan L. Heil, 2009).
Perhaps the most crucial lesson is that, even with ongoing provocations and unresolved disputes, humanitarian solidarity shows that friendship can exist even in times of high tension. The earthquakes of 1999 acted as a catalyst for a more realistic and constructive approach—one that persists despite fluctuations in diplomatic relations.
This humanitarian model—where countries hit by natural disasters receive aid from their neighbors despite political or strategic rivalries—has far wider application. India and Pakistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ethiopia and Eritrea: all are neighbors locked in hostility yet vulnerable to disaster. By embracing a similar approach, they could break cycles of hatred and mistrust, replacing them with a shared humanitarian logic: prioritizing life and prosperity over political or military dominance. In turn, this could trigger new, more constructive relationships—placing human value above political divides.
Sources
Alan L. Heil, 2009. Fallout From “Earthquake Diplomacy” Leads to Unprecedented Thaw in Greek-Turkish Relations.
Anadolu Agency, 2022. Turkish President reiterates warning to Greece: “All of a sudden, we can come overnight” [WWW Document]. Reuters Screenocean. URL https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/1920211 (accessed 4.13.25).
BBC Türkçe, 2019. 17 Ağustos Depremi: 1999 ve sonrasında neler yaşandı, kaç kişi hayatını kaybetti? BBC Türkçe.
Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, n.d. Διμερείς Σχέσεις Τουρκία [WWW Document]. URL https://www.mfa.gr/bilateral-relations/turkiye/ (accessed 4.13.25).
MASSSIVE Project, 2011. MAPPING SEISMIC VULNERABILITY AND RISK OF CITIES.
Nachmani, A., 2018. What the neighbor to the west says Greek–Turkish relations, in: Turkey: Facing a New Millennium. Manchester University Press. https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526137937.00011
