ATHENS — SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance party leader Alexis Tsipras said that Friday's 6.7 Richter-scale earthquake that shook both sides of the Aegean is an opportunity for the easing of tensions between Greece and Turkey, in two separate tweets on Twitter.

"It is time to put an end to the provocations of maritime research ships and warships, and for solidarity to prevail in meeting the challenges that unite the two peoples," he noted in the first post. Referring directly to the earthquake, he said in his second post that it "tests the endurance of the peoples on both ends of the Aegean," and the time has come for both countries to work together through the inclusion of Greek rescue teams in the efforts at Izmir.

Earlier on Friday, the Syriza leader had expressed condolences to the families of the earthquake's victims with a post on Facebook: "Today is a difficult day primarily for the society of Samos, but also for the whole of Greece. Unfortunately, the earthquake that was felt early in the afternoon in a large part of our country, proved to be deadly." He referred to the two students who died on Samos and expressed his deepest condolences to their families and his support to the island.