Turkey: We want to resolve the conflict with Greece through dialogue, but we will not neglect our rights and interests

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said today, Wednesday, that his country wants to resolve the dispute with Greece over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean through dialogue, stressing that Ankara will defend its "rights and interests" in the region.

The two countries, both members of NATO, differ strongly over the overlapping of their claims to sovereignty over hydrocarbon resources in the region, and the escalation of tension since Ankara began drilling operations in a disputed area in the Mediterranean on Monday.

Greece says that the Turkish drilling vessel "Oruj President" is operating illegally in waters off the Greek continental shelf, an accusation Ankara denies. The ship was accompanied by Turkish warships as it left port.

"Despite all this, we want to believe that logic will prevail. We stand on the side of international law, good neighborliness and dialogue in the field and at the table," Akar told Reuters.

"We want to reach political solutions through peaceful means, in accordance with international laws," he added. He indicated that Turkey would continue to defend its "rights and interests" in coastal waters. "It should be known that our seas are our blue home ... every drop has a value," he said.

Direct talks

In the same context, the Greek Foreign Ministry said that Minister Nikos Dendias will meet with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo in Vienna on Friday to discuss tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.

Dendias urged Turkey on Tuesday to "leave the Greek continental shelf immediately", saying Athens was determined to defend its sovereign rights. Greece has also called an emergency meeting of the European Union to discuss the matter.

The European Union foreign ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting on Friday, at a time when the United States has urged the resumption of direct talks between the two countries. Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that they had been underway for two months until they stopped last week.

Turkey stated that the agreement with Egypt, which Greek diplomats said had effectively canceled an agreement between Turkey and the internationally recognized Libyan government, showed that it could not trust Athens, and pledged to continue surveying operations in the waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus as well.