Many of us who came of age during the 1999 twin earthquakes that struck Turkey & Greece within 3 weeks of each other, recall the "earthquake diplomacy" that followed. #thread

It was a period of constructive soft diplomacy led by G. Papandreou and the late I Cem, that sprung from the goodwill of the spontaneous outpouring of support from both sides of the Aegean in the aftermath of the quakes. It centered on the warmth of people-to-people relations.

As evidenced by the state of Greek-Turkish relations, that period did not tackle the thorniest issues that dog the 2 still. 2020 is not 1999, such diplomatic efforts are unlikely to be replicated. But, it's possible the quake will act as a brief circuit breaker to ease tensions.

As they say in the biz, it's complicated. Anyway, this 1999 high-school student remembers the era as one of the last positive foreign-policy initiatives in the region, enjoying broad political & social support on both sides of the Aegean. /ends