Tensions in the Mediterranean: towards "exploratory talks" between Greece and Turkey

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias (L) meets Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on the sidelines of a conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, Thursday, October 8, 2020. Fatih Aktas / Turkish Foreign Ministry via AP

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Turkish and Greek Foreign Ministers held talks on Thursday on the sidelines of a forum organized by the Globsec think tank in Bratislava, Slovakia.

It was the first high-level meeting between the two countries since the start of tensions around hydrocarbon exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

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With our correspondent in Istanbul,

The exchange was brief, but judging by the photos and videos of the meeting - which show the two ministers laughing and smiling under their masks - it was quite cordial, almost jovial.

Symbolically, this image was important after months of strong tensions between Athens and Ankara over their differences in the eastern Mediterranean.

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The head of Turkish diplomacy Mevlüt Cavusoglu said he had reached an agreement with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias to decide in the coming days on the start date of " 

 " between the two countries.

The announcement of such a timetable would confirm the de-escalation started last month, which saw

deployed, one in a maritime area claimed by Greece, and the other in that of Cyprus. .

The meeting barely ended, however, Turkish columnists called for caution, after the publication by Athens of a maritime information notice announcing military exercises in the Aegean on October 29, a national holiday in Turkey.

The latter immediately responded by announcing the holding of similar exercises the day before, October 28.

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