Greek foreign minister attends Easter service on Gokceada in northwest Türkiye

CANAKKALE, Türkiye

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias attended an Easter service Friday led by Istanbul-based Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew I on Gokceada island in Türkiye’s northwestern province of Canakkale.

The service was held at the Agridia Church on Gokceada, formerly known as Imbros, which was mostly populated by Greeks before population exchanges between Greece and Türkiye in the 1920s.

Dendias arrived at the Gokceada Airport by private plane and was welcomed by Kyrillos Sykis, the Metropolitan Gokceada and Bozcaada at the island’s Central Panayia Greek Orthodox Church.

Later, Dendias met Bartholomew I and said that they were happy because the Turkish and Greek relations have been going well recently.

Noting that he does not want tensions, he said: “We want and hope that these bilateral relations will continue in a good way. This is the same for the Patriarchate. We want better steps to be taken.”

Bartholomew I expressed happiness at the positive developments and hoped it would continue.

Dendias' visit came as Türkiye and Greece mend ties following the Feb. 6 earthquakes which killed more than 50,000 people in eastern Türkiye. Greece was among the first countries to convey condolences and offer aid to the region.

The Greek foreign minister later visited the Private Greek Primary School in Zeytinlikoy, took pictures with the students and met executives of an NGO focusing on the protection and development of Gokceada.

While leaving the school, Dendias said he was happy to visit the island at the foreign ministry level 11 years after the last Greek foreign minister’s trip to the region.

Noting that the school currently has 60 students, Dendias said he hoped “this number will be 120, (when) the next foreign minister visits here. We are very happy with this situation.”

He also visited the Private Gokceada Secondary and High School in Tepekoy and was hosted by principal Ioakim Makis Kamburopoulos.

Georgia Soultanopoulou, Consul General of Greece in Istanbul, also was part of the visit.