Athens denied discussions with Ankara on a de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean on Thursday (September 3), after a tweet from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg affirming the contrary.
"The information that has been revealed on alleged technical discussions at NATO does not correspond to reality," the Greek Foreign Ministry said Thursday evening in a statement.
According to the tweet of the Secretary General of NATO, Greece and Turkey, members of the Alliance, "have agreed to start technical talks at NATO", with the objective of preventing any further incidents in the Eastern Mediterranean , where a Turkish seismic boat accompanied by warships has been in Greek waters since August 10.
Following my discussions with Greek & Turkish leaders, the two Allies have agreed to enter into technical talks at #NATO to establish deconfliction mechanisms and reduce the risk of incidents & accidents in the #EastMed.
https://t.co/Kc70MlNPzY
- Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) September 3, 2020
"We have retained the intention of the Secretary General of NATO to work on the establishment of de-escalation mechanisms (...) However, de-escalation will only take place with the immediate withdrawal of all Turkish ships from the Greek continental shelf, ”added Greek diplomacy.
Since August 10, Ankara has deployed its seismic boat Oruç Reis and its escort of Turkish warships to carry out explorations off the Greek island of Kastellorizo, 2 km from the Turkish coast, in an area rich in hydrocarbons.
At the end of August, tensions rose a notch between Turkey and Greece, which carried out rival military maneuvers, the first with the United States and then with Russia, the second with France, Cyprus and Italy.
With AFP
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