US State Secretary Mike Pompeo will pay a visit to Greece in the coming days to hold talks with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Monday, adding that Athens expects to receive practical support from the US regarding its dispute with Ankara over the Eastern Mediterranean
ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2020) US State Secretary Mike Pompeo will pay a visit to Greece in the coming days to hold talks with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Monday, adding that Athens expects to receive practical support from the US regarding its dispute with Ankara over the Eastern Mediterranean.
Earlier in the day, the Greek media reported that the US official was set to visit Athens next week in a bid to de-escalate tensions between Greece and Turkey. Pompeo will also visit the Souda naval base on Crete.
"First of all, we expect him [Pompeo] to confirm what the US side has said many times recently, that is, practical support for the Greek positions at all levels in connection with the Turkish provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean," Petsas told reporters when asked what Athens expected from Pompeo's upcoming visit.
The sides will also discuss a number of issues related to bilateral cooperation, the spokesman added.
Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean have been brewing for many months around Turkey's exploration for gas in waters that Cyprus and Greece claim as their exclusive economic zones. Turkey has been ignoring calls to leave the disputed waters and has conducted military exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean in response to drills organized by Greece, Cyprus, France and Italy this summer.
Last week, Ankara issued a new Navtex advisory for the seismic exploration of hydrocarbon deposits off the coast of Cyprus until October 18.
