NATO Secretary-General announces that the two countries have agreed to hold talks on establishing a crisis resolution mechanism • Only last week Turkish planes removed Greek aircraft
On the way to compromise in the Mediterranean?
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced tonight (Thursday) that both Turkey and Greece have agreed to hold a dialogue with the aim of reducing tensions between the parties, tensions that have led to a number of naval and air clashes between the Greek and Turkish armies.
Turkish planes take off Greek planes in Cyprus last week // Photo from the Turkish Ministry of Defense's Twitter account
According to a statement from Stoltenberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsutakis have both agreed to discuss a joint mechanism for resolving crises under the auspices of the alliance in which the two countries are members.
"Following my talks with the leaders of Greece and Turkey, the two allies have agreed to begin technical talks to establish a joint mechanism to reduce tensions and reduce the risk of incidents and accidents in the eastern Mediterranean," Stoltenberg said in an official statement, adding that Greece and Turkey are both valued allies, and NATO An organization is important for consultation on all issues related to the mutual security of its members.
I will stay in close contact with all concerned allies in order to find a solution in the spirit of NATO to the situation.
Stoltenberg's announcement comes after several months of tensions in the Middle East, which in the past week have reached the brink of clashes between the two countries, due to disagreements between the parties over territorial waters in Cyprus - and consequently disagreement over gas exploration and installation of gas pipelines to Europe. Enormous economic for both countries.
About six months ago, Turkey signed an agreement with the Libyan government to transfer a gas pipeline through Turkish Cyprus' territorial waters to Europe, but the Greek government, along with the rest of the world, does not recognize Turkish Cyprus - and the government's status in Tripoli is undecided. .
In recent weeks, when Turkey began gas exploration in the conflict zone, although there were naval clashes between the two countries, they even injured a number of Greek sailors when ships of the two fleets collided at sea.
It should be noted that in response to the Turkish threats, Greece has begun strengthening its ties with other countries in the Mediterranean, including France, Cyprus, Italy and Israel.
