ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2021) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Athens, during probing contacts with Ankara, did not intend to discuss any other issues besides the delimitation of sea zones.
In an interview with ANT1 (Antenna) on Tuesday evening, Mitsotakis said that he was optimistic, wanted to find a basis for long-term negotiations and resolution of the dispute with Turkey, and hoped that 2021 would be better for Greek-Turkish relations than 2020.
Greece and Turkey have agreed to resume probing contacts broken off in 2016. The next 61st round will take place on January 25 in Istanbul. Prior to that, relations between the two countries sharply deteriorated, especially after a Turkish research vessel began to conduct seismic surveys in the Eastern Mediterranean region, which Greece considers its exclusive economic zone, and Turkey - its zone.
During the interview, the journalist said Turkey, especially over the past five to six years, had shown that it was always trying to expand the agenda and did not accept that the only problem existing between the two countries was the delimitation of maritime zones.
"Our government has sought from the outset to resume the probing contacts, which, I emphasize, are informal conversations, not negotiations. But by setting a certain framework for them so that they can resume," Mitsotakis said.
"The framework was completely clear: in the Greek exclusive economic zone there should be no research activities, and we must continue from where we stopped. That is, within the established framework with the subject of discussion: delimitation of sea zones," he said.
