MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th September, 2020) Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will travel to New York on Friday to hold talks with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the ongoing tensions in the eastern Mediterranean Sea with Turkey are expected to feature on the agenda.
"Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias will travel to New York tomorrow, Friday, 4 September, to meet with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres. The talks will focus on international and regional issues - with emphasis on current developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the Cyprus issue as well as the role of the UN," the statement read.
Tensions in the region have risen to boiling point as Turkish seismic exploration vessels conduct surveys for the purpose of hydrocarbon drilling in territory that Greece believes to be part of its exclusive economic zone.
Athens has raised multiple protests to the EU and the UN over Ankara's actions. Despite this, Turkey on Monday extended a Navtex advisory for surveys in the disrupted region until September 12.
Turkey has said that it is open to dialogue with Greece to find a solution to the ongoing dispute, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that both parties had agreed to hold technical talks within the alliance.
Greece's state-run AMNA news agency, citing diplomatic sources, refuted these claims later in the evening.
