What’s new? Turkey and Greece have returned to talks after their mid-2020 dispute over sovereignty in the eastern Mediterranean Sea devolved into the longest-lasting military face-off since the 1970s. The discussions could help the parties de-escalate tensions and move from brinkmanship to dialogue.
Why did it happen? Tensions flared in 2019-2020 when Ankara – seeking a say in energy projects – sent seismic research ships to waters contested with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, intervened in Libya’s civil war and signed a maritime delimitation deal with Tripoli. Turkey’s rivals have increasingly aligned with Greece over competing sovereignty claims.
Greece-Turkey exploratory talks conclude in Athens
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Greece and Turkey held more exploratory talks in Athens on Tuesday, in an effort to ease long-standing tensions, ahead of the European Union summit later this month.
The Greek delegation was led by Ambassador Pavlos Apostolidis and the Turkish side by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal.
According to diplomatic sources cited by
ERT, the talks which aimed to lay the ground for formal negotiations following a five-year pause, concluded after nearly four hours.
The two sides agreed to hold another round in Istanbul.
No details were given on the substance of the meeting.
The 62nd Round Of Exploratory Talks With Turkey Will Be Held In Athens Tomorrow greekcitytimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from greekcitytimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Turkey-Greece talks resume but significant issues off limits
Yasar Yakis
January 31, 2021 20:44
Greek diplomat Pavlos Apostolidis (2L), Turkish Deputy FM Sedat Onal (2R), the Turkish President s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin (3R) and their delegation meet in Istanbul as talks resumed over Eastern Mediterranean dispute. (File/AFP)
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The “exploratory talks” between Turkey and Greece resumed last week in Istanbul. These were initiated in 2002 and interrupted 14 years later in 2016 at the 60th round. They have now started again, with the 61st round taking place last Monday. This was a short encounter without substantive negotiation. The two sides decided to meet again in a month’s time.
Greece, Turkey open first crisis talk since 2016
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Istanbul (AFP)
Greece and Turkey bowed to EU and NATO pressure on Monday and opened the first direct talks in nearly five years over their explosive eastern Mediterranean standoff.
The Istanbul meeting is not expected to make major headway after the two NATO neighbours gunboats collided in August as their dispute over energy and borders threatened to spiral out of control.
But it adds to the positive tone Turkish President Recep Erdogan has been setting as he tries to repair damaged relations with Europe in the face of a potentially more hostile US administration under President Joe Biden.