Athens offers support to earthquake-hit Italy, experts do not expect effect on Greece

The Greek government expressed solidarity with earthquake-stricken Italian people and offered support after the latest strong tremor measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale which hit the neighboring country on Sunday.

"We express our solidarity with our Italian brothers in these difficult times they are going through," the Greek Foreign Ministry tweeted in Greek and Italian.

Defense Minister Panos Kammenos contacted his Italian counterpart Roberta Pinotti, expressing Greece's readiness to provide assistance if it is requested, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

Greek authorities and scientists are following closely the seismic activity in Italy, which has been jolted by three strong quakes since August, Professor Efthymios Lekkas, head of the Antiseismic Protection Organization told national broadcaster ERT.

In the wake of a light tremor measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale which rattled Corfu island in the Ionian Sea in northwestern Greece on Saturday evening, the professor ruled out the possibility that the strong earthquakes in Italy may activate rifts in quake prone Greece.

Seismologist Gerassimos Chouliaras, head of research at the Athens Geodynamic Institute, commenting on AMNA, shared Lekkas' view.

He noted that stimulation of neighboring rifts has been recorded only within a range of a few dozen kilometers and the distance separating the two countries is far larger.

Seismic prone Greece is often hit smaller tremors. The most destructive in recent years with more than 100 casualties occurred in Athens in 1999. Endit