Turkey and Greece seem to have opted for appeasement in the crisis that opposes them in the Eastern Mediterranean by saying they are ready to start negotiations, after weeks of tensions exacerbated by rival military maneuvers.
The announcement of these talks was made at the end of yet another conference call between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who acts as mediator between the two countries, in which also participated the President of Turkey. European Council Charles Michel.
According to the Turkish presidency, the participants affirmed that “Turkey and Greece are ready to start exploratory talks” on the subject of the Eastern Mediterranean where the two countries compete for areas potentially rich in natural gas.
Mr. Erdogan said during the meeting that “the momentum to lower tensions and exploit channels of dialogue must be supported by reciprocal measures”, according to the same source.
In Athens, the Greek Foreign Ministry indicated that the scheduled talks would take place “soon” in Istanbul without specifying when.
Mr. Erdogan said Friday he was ready to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis if he saw signs of “good intention” on his part in the crisis between their countries in the eastern Mediterranean.
The last round of “exploratory talks” aimed at settling their differences in the eastern Mediterranean took place in 2016.
Turkey and Greece, both members of NATO, are tearing each other apart over oil fields in the eastern Mediterranean, in an area that Athens considers to be under its sovereignty.
On August 10, Turkey sent a seismic survey vessel accompanied by warships to the waters between Greece and Cyprus. The tension had worsened in late August, when the two countries carried out rival military maneuvers.
“Sincere dialogue”
The crisis is on the program of a European summit which was to be held on September 24 and 25 in Brussels before being postponed to early October, several countries, including France, brandishing the threat of sanctions against Turkey.
Another signal of appeasement was sent by Paris, which took up the cause of Greece in this crisis, with the announcement by the Elysee Palace of a telephone interview scheduled for the evening between President Emmanuel Macron and Mr. Erdogan, who have cursed each other with rare vehemence in recent weeks.
To back up their demands on the disputed sectors in the Mediterranean, Turkey and Greece have signed controversial maritime delimitation agreements in recent months, respectively with the Libyan government in Tripoli and with Egypt.
In a meeting with reporters on Tuesday, US Ambassador to Ankara David Satterfield said “no card or unilateral statement impacting the rights of a third party is valid as part of a settlement. a maritime dispute, ”he said.
Mr Erdogan also adopted a more conciliatory tone in his address to the UN Annual General Assembly in which he called for a “sincere dialogue” to resolve the conflict with Greece and the European Union in the Mediterranean, while rejecting any “harassment” against Turkey.
“Our priority is to resolve conflicts through sincere dialogue, based on international law and an equitable basis,” said the Turkish head of state, who spoke by videoconference.
“However, I want to make it clear that we are never going to tolerate any diktat, harassment or attack,” he added.
He also proposed the organization of a regional conference to discuss “the rights and interests” of the countries bordering the Eastern Mediterranean, also including the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
To “give an opportunity to diplomacy”, Ankara had recalled to port on September 13 the research vessel, Oruç Reis, whose deployment in the Eastern Mediterranean had raised the tension to its height.