The ruling party in Turkey announced that the door to negotiations with Greece remains open to settle the conflict in the eastern Mediterranean, while Israel participated in tripartite talks with Greece and Cyprus, within the framework of multilateral coordination of countries hostile to Turkey.

In a press conference in Ankara today, Tuesday, the spokesman for the Justice and Development Party, Omar Celik, said that the door to negotiation with Greece is always open in the event that it gives up attempts to impose a fait accompli.

Celik added that his country will not allow Greece to be used for negotiations in order to impose a fait accompli in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Turkish spokesman’s statements came a day after Turkey and Greece canceled military exercises that they were to carry out in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşolu announced the cancellation of military shooting training as a good-intention gesture, at a time when Turkish sources confirmed that Ankara continues to support dialogue and find a political solution to the disputes in the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean, based on international law and good-neighborly relations.

Although the two countries canceled their naval exercises, they exchanged accusations of responsibility for tensions between them in the context of the dispute over energy resources in the region.

Before announcing the cancellation of the maneuvers, Turkey had extended the mission of the exploration vessel "Oruj Reis" until November 4, in defiance of the European Union, which threatened to impose sanctions on it if it continued its gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

And recently, Fuad Aktay, Turkish Vice President, confirmed that his country will not give up a single drop of its water, warning at the same time that Greece's expansion of its maritime borders could lead to war.

Foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Israel during their talks in Athens (German)

Triple format

Meanwhile, the Greek foreign ministers, Nikos Dendias, the Cypriot Nikos Christodoulides and the Israeli Gabi Ashkenazi, held talks today in Athens on the latest developments in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The three ministers also discussed cooperation relations in the fields of economy and energy.

Greek Minister Dendias said that the close cooperation between his country, Cyprus and Israel constitutes a guarantee for the security of the region, adding that the European Union and the United States support this cooperation greatly.

The Cypriot and Israeli ministers also said that the close cooperation relations between the three countries are proceeding within the framework of adherence to international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, expressing their countries' readiness to cooperate with the rest of the region.

The tripartite ministerial meeting comes in the continuous movement of the front against Turkey's activities in the eastern Mediterranean, which also includes France and Egypt.

A week ago, the leaders of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus held a meeting in Nicosia, at which time Al-Sisi said that the summit emphasized the need to confront what he described as the escalatory policies in the eastern Mediterranean region.

It is noteworthy that Egypt and Greece signed an agreement in early August to demarcate the maritime borders between them, which was strongly criticized by Turkey.