Despite a denial from Greece, the chief of NATO said Friday that Greece and Turkey have started technical discussions aimed at reducing the risk of armed conflict or accidents amid military tensions between the allies over offshore energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean, Αssociated Press reports.
No deal has been reached from the military-level talks, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
Greece’s foreign minister, meanwhile, headed to New York to discuss the regional dispute centered around maritime boundaries as well as drilling rights.
Neighbors and NATO allies Greece and Turkey have been locked for weeks in a tense standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey is prospecting the seabed for energy reserves in an area Greece regards as its own continental shelf.
Stoltenberg announced Thursday that the two sides had agreed to start “technical talks” to reduce the risks of military “incidents and accidents.”
But Athens quickly denied any such agreement, noting Turkey must first withdraw its ships from the area where it is carrying out gas and oil prospecting. Ankara said it backed Stoltenberg’s initiative for military and technical talks and called on Greece to do the same.
On Friday, the NATO chief said Greek, Turkish and allied military officers had begun talks aimed at ensuring that some of the standoffs between the two countries’ armed forces in the Mediterranean don’t break out into open conflict. NATO officials said the first talks were held Thursday.
Read the full report at thenationalherald.com
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