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Turkey ready for dialogue over east Mediterranean

Rahshan Saglam

Press TV, Istanbul

Turkey once again showed its readiness for dialogue with Greece over the eastern Mediterranean tensions.

In a statement, Turkish foreign ministry said Ankara is ready for talk with Greece assuring that it was in favor of dialogue without preconditions. This came after Turkey's search vessel Oruc Reis returned to the port of Antalya on November 29th after suspending its mission in the region.

Greece had repeatedly said it would not engage in exploratory talks with Turkey as long as the ship remained in its continental shelf waters. This come as Turkish Foreign Minister said the the European Union’s solidarity often gets abused as the most recent example of the interception of a Turkish-flagged merchant ship by the bloc’s military Operation has shown.

The conflict between Turkey and Greece goes further back, many consider eastern Mediterranean tensions as the tip of the iceberg. Observers say things may get more complicated. Turkey and Greece have conflicting claims over energy resources in the eastern mediterranean however tensions rose to the surface when Ankara sent a search vessel to an area of dispute between the two NATO allies.

Turkey's readiness for talks comes as the EU Council is set to sit for talks on December 11 on Turkey. It is widely believed that, the council will impose some sanctions on Turkey.


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