Erdogan Tells Merkel Issues In Mediterranean Should Be Resolved Through Dialogue - Ankara

Erdogan Tells Merkel Issues in Mediterranean Should be Resolved Through Dialogue - Ankara

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday during a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Ankara favored resolving Turkey-Greece issues over maritime rights in the eastern Mediterranean through dialogue, the Turkish Presidency's press service said

ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2020) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday during a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Ankara favored resolving Turkey-Greece issues over maritime rights in the eastern Mediterranean through dialogue, the Turkish Presidency's press service said.

"Regional issues, the developments in Eastern Mediterranean in particular, were discussed. President Erdogan stated that Turkey favors the resolution of the problems in the Eastern Mediterranean on the basis of fairness and dialogue and in line with the international law," the press service tweeted.

According to the presidential administration, Erdogan and Merkel also reviewed steps to enhance Ankara-Berlin relations during the talk.

The ongoing dispute between Turkey and Greece, two NATO allies, over the maritime border and the rights to offshore energy resource exploration escalated on Monday, when Ankara deployed a seismic research vessel accompanied by several warships to the contested waters near the Greek island of Kastellorizo. The move came in response to the Egypt-Greece maritime deal on an exclusive economic zone, which Turkey opposes. Athens responded by putting its Armed Forces on alert.