ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey is making Greece an official offer to resume exploratory talks on their conflicting maritime claims in the Mediterranean Sea and other existing issues this month, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.
Ankara and Athens, NATO members, vehemently disagree over the extent of their continental shelves in the Mediterranean and other maritime issues. They held 60 rounds of talks until 2016, when talks were suspended. Tensions flared last year when Ankara sent a seismic exploration vessel to waters also claimed by Greece, but the vessel has since moved to Turkish shores.
Speaking alongside his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Tahsin Ertugruloglu in Ankara, Cavusoglu said Greece had previously indicated it could resume talks on Jan. 11, but that no move had been made. He added Athens had “no excuse” not to resume talks.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler)
