New round of Turkish-Greek technical talks starts today

ANKARA

Turkish and Greek military delegations will hold the sixth round of technical talks Tuesday afternoon at NATO headquarters in Brussels to discuss the Eastern Mediterranean, according to the Turkish National Defence Ministry.

The talks, aiming to reduce the risk of an incident amid rising tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, were planned after a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

An initial technical meeting was held on Sept. 10.

Greece has disputed Turkey's current energy exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, trying to box in Turkish maritime territory based on small islands near the Turkish coast.

Turkey, the country with the longest coastline in the Mediterranean, has sent out drill ships to explore for energy on its continental shelf, asserting the rights of Ankara and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the region.

Dialogue about fairly sharing resources will be a win-win for all sides, say Turkish officials.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk