Greece, Turkey to resume exploratory talks by early March
Greek and Turkish officials are likely to meet again at the end of Feburary or in early March in a bid to scout each other’s intentions in resolving their long-standing differences in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday.
“I expect within the next month, at some point end of February, beginning of March,” Mitsotakis told Reuters.
The Greek PM said that the continuation of talks marks a “good step in the right direction.” He stressed, however, that Ankara’s actions should not be a bait for EU leaders to skip discussions over its activities in the Eastern Mediterranean ahead of an EU summit scheduled for March 25 and that Turkey needs to be “consistent” in its behaviour.
The two NATO allies have been at odds over a number of issues, including the extent of their continental shelves, overflights in the Aegean Sea, the militarisation of Greek islands and the de facto divided island of Cyprus. However, Athens says it is willing to address only the demarcation of maritime zones in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Earlier in January, Greece and Turkey met after almost five years in Istanbul for the 61st round of exploratory talks, during which, they agreed to meet again in Athens.
