Athens denies opening of talks with Turkey

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A Turkish Navy patrol ship next to the drill ship "Fatih" in the Eastern Mediterranean

Photo: Pool Turkish Defense Ministry / DPA

Greece has denied a statement by NATO that Athens and Ankara have agreed to hold talks to avoid military incidents in the eastern Mediterranean.

Information that Greece and Turkey "agreed on so-called 'technical talks' to de-escalate tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean" with NATO mediation "does not correspond to reality," said the Greek Foreign Ministry.

They are ready for such talks - but only if all Turkish ships are withdrawn from Greece's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

This is reported by the dpa news agency with advice from the Foreign Ministry.

The denial came shortly after an announcement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that both NATO states were ready for talks to resolve the conflict within the framework of the alliance.

A NATO spokeswoman did not comment on the statements from Athens at the request of the dpa.

She only pointed out that there had already been a technical meeting between Turkey and Greece on Thursday at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Greece accuses Turkey of illegal gas exploration

The background to this is the dispute between NATO partners over natural gas in the Mediterranean, which has been escalating for weeks.

Greece accuses Turkey of illegally exploring deposits off Greek islands.

The government in Ankara, however, rejects the allegations.

It takes the position that the waters in which the trial for natural gas is being drilled belong to the Turkish continental shelf.

Icon: The mirror

bah / dpa / AFP