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Members of the NATO military alliance disagree over the limits of their continental shelves, energy rights, airspace and the status of certain islands.
Turkey and Greece will resume suspended exploratory talks on Mediterranean land claims and other issues on January 25 in Istanbul, Turkey’s foreign ministry said.
Discussion plans Last year sank after a disagreement over a Turkish seismic exploration vessel deployed in the disputed waters. The ship has since returned.
Ankara and Athens both said earlier on Monday they were ready to resume exploratory talks, which were suspended in 2016 after 60 rounds in 14 years.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his government would attend the talks.
“We are looking for a fertile and productive relationship with Turkey,” he told reporters in Lisbon, saying officials should be in formal contact. “It’s probably about time we stop chatting and sit down and make a date.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will likely address the dispute and the new mediation efforts when he meets with EU ambassadors in Ankara on Tuesday. He is also due to travel to Brussels on January 21.
Litigation issues
The two members of the NATO military alliance disagree on the limits of their continental shelves, energy rights, airspace and the status of certain islands.
Their dispute threatened to turn into open conflict when Turkish and Greek warships collided in August as they watched the Turkish vessel Oruc Reis as it searched for oil and gas in the waters at the western Cyprus.
Turkey, a candidate for the European Union, is claiming Mediterranean gas resources which are also contested by Greece and Cyprus – a dispute that has fueled territorial disputes over maritime borders.
Turkey rejects maritime border claims from Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, saying Ankara supports all issues being resolved through international law.
The EU has threatened Ankara with sanctions, including on arms exports, on several occasions since August.
Turkey and Greece have also organized rival military exercises with regional partners.
In DecemberEU leaders have decided to draw up a list of Turkish sanctions targets because of Ankara’s “unilateral actions and provocations” in the disputed waters near Cyprus and Greece.
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