Ankara

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was in Cairo on Saturday for the first time since ties were ruptured a decade ago to push to restore full diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Talks between the foreign affairs ministries of Greece and Turkey were held over approximately twenty days and in absolute secrecy, before the two respective ministers' announcements came from Brussels on Monday, noted Greek diplomatic sources.

Türkiye will never forget the solidarity displayed by European Union, United Nations, and other international organizations after the deadly Feb. 6 earthquakes, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on March 20.

Following a meeting between Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Brussels, the two men announced that Ankara will vote for Greece's candidacy in the elections for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, while Athens will support Turkey for general-secretary of the International Maritime Organization.

A "cat massacre" has been going on in Istanbul, with 45 stray cats found dead in Kadıköy district and three newborn kittens brutally murdered in Esenyurt district.

On March 16 in the Fenerbahçe neighborhood of Kadıköy district of Istanbul, a resident noticed that the cat they were feeding on the street was looking ill.

While many schools were damaged in the 11 southern quake-hit provinces after the Feb. 6 earthquakes, recent building assessments have revealed that many educational institutions through the country are not resistant to earthquakes.

The death toll in the Feb. 6 earthquakes that rattled southern provinces has risen to 49,589, while 18 people lost their lives in the flood disaster, as search efforts for three missing people continue, Vice President Fuat Oktay has announced.

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 18 announced the extension of a deal that allowed exports of Ukrainian grain to resume following Russia's invasion.

Ankara and Cairo will raise diplomatic relations to the highest level "as soon as possible," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on March 18, noting that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, could meet after the elections in Türkiye as part of efforts to end of a decade of estrangement between the two countries.

Türkiye's chief diplomat was in Cairo on March 18 for talks with Egyptian officials as the regional powers seek to mend their frayed ties after years of tensions.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Türkiye's foreign minister, landed in the Egyptian capital early Saturday. He was the highest-ranking Turkish official to visit the Arab World's most populous nation in over a decade.