The new rapprochement between Greece and Turkey took its most dramatic turn yesterday when the two signed five accords on illegal immigration and terrorism, organised crime, the environment, double taxation and tourism during an historic visit to the Turkish capital by the Greek Foreign Minister, Mr George Papandreou.
In a move that amazed even the most optimistic observers, President Suleyman Demirel implored the Greek Prime Minister, Mr Costas Simitis, to visit Turkey. "We must take advantage of the climate that has been created," Mr Demirel said.
The two neighbours also discussed the possibility of a joint bid for the 2008 European football championships and joint cultural initiatives during the 2004 Olympics games in Athens. Turkey also proposed a joint committee to look at ways of resolving long-standing differences in the Aegean and Cyprus. Mr Papandreou's visit to the Turkish capital, the first in 38 years by a senior Greek official, crowns six months of unprecedented bilateral contacts. Officials say hopes for reconciliation on the most contentious issues have not been so high since 1933 when Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, and Eleftherios Venizelos, Greece's foremost statesman, signed a friendship treaty.
By capitalising on the mutual sympathy produced by last summer's earthquakes - now dubbed earthquake diplomacy - the two governments were able to do what no amount of politicking could ever have achieved.
Yesterday, the two sides hoped the new accords will create the momentum for even further reconciliation. But analysts - and hardliners - were warning it would take more than a few signatures to erase the past.
"The important thing is not just to sign deals but implement them and sustain the climate of contacts and interdependence," said Prof Theodoros Coloumbis who heads the Greek foreign policy think-tank, Eliamep. "There may be a lot of goodwill but just as much will depend on the results of national elections that are due in both Greece and Turkey later this year."