Turkish, Greek top diplomats exchange views on future talks

ANKARA

Turkish and Greek foreign ministers, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Nikos Dendias, exchanged on Nov 8 views on how to continue the bilateral talks in the coming period amid continued tension in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry informed the exchange but did not provide the details about the conversation between the two foreign ministers, according to the Demirören News Asgency.

Turkey and Greece have long been in a standoff about the contested continental shelf claims in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey deployed the Oruç Reis research vessel in the area for continuing its seismic works while Greece condemned the move as a violation of its sovereign rights.

The two countries had agreed to return to the negotiation table after the mediation of Germany but they could not set a date yet.

Turkey will host the 61st exploratory talks, a mechanism that was launched in 2002 for the purpose of narrowing the two sides’ differences on the territorial waters, continental shelves and airspaces.

The two sides exchanged condolences after a strong earthquake struck İzmir and Greece’s Samos Island.