Greek Prime Minister: maritime negotiations with Turkey will resume within a month

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has suggested that officials from his country and Turkey will return to the negotiating table in late February or early March, in an effort to resolve the maritime disputes between the two neighboring countries.

Mitsotakis said in a statement to “Reuters” today, Thursday, that Athens and Ankara will resume negotiations between them, most likely, before the European summit scheduled to be held on March 25, and continued: “I expect that this will happen within the next month, either late February or early March, and this.” A good step in the right direction. ”

The Greek Prime Minister stressed the need for Turkey to be consistent in its behavior, adding: “It should not be a mere trick to avoid discussions in the European Council in March.”

Greece and Turkey conducted dozens of rounds of negotiations between 2002 and 2016, and resumed exploratory negotiations between them on January 25, after a four-year hiatus due to the escalating tensions between the two countries.

The 61st and final round of negotiations hosted by Istanbul ended only a few hours after their start, but the two parties agreed to hold a new meeting in Athens.

Differences still exist between the two countries, especially with regard to the agenda of the negotiations, as the Greek side insists that it will only discuss issues of demarcating maritime areas in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, while Turkey demands that the negotiations cover all controversial issues, including the airspace and the status of some Greek islands.

Source: Reuters