There were no handshakes but plenty of smiles at the meeting this morning, Aug. 13, between Israel’s Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias. Dendias arrived to Jerusalem for a snap visit, meeting first with Ashkenazi and then with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The visit comes just two months after that of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakisis on June 16. Like Mitsotakisis, Dendias was not asked to enter isolation and the meetings in both cases took place in Jerusalem.

Dendias arrived to Jerusalem only three days before the expected reopening of Israeli skies on Aug. 16. A statement by Israel’s Foreign Ministry after the meeting said that Greece will now allow Israelis to visit. “I welcome Greece’s decision to allow tourism from Israel to Greece in the era of the coronavirus. This decision expresses the warm bond between the countries and the common desire to return to a normal life. … I hope that more European countries will follow suit.’’

The statement gave no further details, but according to reports, 600 Israeli tourists will be allowed to visit Greece per week. The tourists will be allowed to visit four locations: Athens, Crete, Thessaloniki and Corfu. The Israeli tourists will probably need to undergo two tests — one before their flight, and one upon arrival to Greece — and will reportedly be quarantined until they receive the test results, which might take up until 48 hours. Israel’s Health Ministry is expected to issue a statement this afternoon about Israeli tourism abroad and the countries that are set to open their gates to Israelis. Cyprus is expected to be one of them.

Dendias' visit was also significant in terms of security and diplomacy. Tensions between Greece and Turkey flared on Aug. 10, when Ankara dispatched the research ship Oruc Reis accompanied by Turkish naval vessels off the Greek island of Kastellorizo. Greece deployed warships to monitor the vessels. On Aug. 12, Israel’s embassy in Greece tweeted a statement of support for Athens, saying,