Turkey lends itself to dialogue with Greece without "preconditions"

Ankara announced on Tuesday that it was ready for dialogue with Athens without " preconditions " about the dispute between the two NATO allies over the search for hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean.

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" Turkey is ready for a dialogue without preconditions for a fair share, " Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday at a joint press conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Ankara. " But this is not possible if Greece imposes preconditions ", he added.

Germany, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has embarked on a mediation effort to ease tensions between Greece and Turkey, whose unilateral searches for hydrocarbons have caused a regional crisis. The discovery in recent years of large gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean has whetted the appetite of the riparian countries and created tensions between Ankara and Athens, which are fighting over certain maritime areas.

The visit of the head of German diplomacy first to Athens and then to Ankara on Tuesday came on the same day of rival military exercises organized by the two countries in the eastern Mediterranean. Heiko Maas said in Ankara that the situation between Turkey and Greece was at a " very critical " point. " Nobody wants to resolve this dispute by military means, " he nevertheless assured, according to the translation of his remarks into Turkish. " There is a will on both sides for dialogue ."

A " gesture " to pave the way for dialogue

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, for his part, praised Germany's mediation efforts. Mr. Cavusoglu said that at Berlin's request, Ankara temporarily suspended its drilling activities in July as a " gesture " to pave the way for dialogue.

But the signing between Egypt and Greece of an agreement delimiting their maritime borders would have shown that Athens " was not sincere ", according to the Turkish minister. " I would like to advise Greece to abandon this spoiled child attitude ," Cavusoglu warned. “ You won't be able to get anything through EU support. (...) Turkey is ready to do what is necessary without hesitation ”.

On Sunday, Ankara decided to extend the presence of its Oruç Reis seismic building in an area claimed by Athens until August 27, leading to the announcement first by Greece and then by Turkey of the holding of rival military exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean.