Today, Monday, the 61st round of exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece ended in Istanbul to discuss the situation in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, while America and the European Union announced their welcome to return to talks between the two countries.
The two sides agreed to hold the next talks in the Greek capital, Athens.
So far, the parties have not agreed on what they want to discuss;
Ankara wants to discuss all thorny issues, including the common waters and the special economic zone in the Aegean Sea, in addition to the disarmament of the Greek islands off the Turkish coast, and differences over the mutual expansion of the airspace, but Athens wants to discuss the dispute over natural gas only.
Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted diplomatic sources as saying that the meeting discussed recent developments and future steps regarding common issues between the two countries.
Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for the Turkish presidency, said, "It is possible to solve all the problems with Greece, including the issue of the Aegean Sea, and Turkey's will is complete in this regard."
In turn, Greek government spokesman Christos Tarantilis said that "his country will not discuss issues of national sovereignty during its talks that resumed today with Turkey, but will focus only on demarcating the borders of economic areas and the continental shelf in the eastern Mediterranean."
In conjunction with the talks, Turkish fighter jets and fuel supply aircraft carried out training sorties in the skies over the eastern Mediterranean region, and the Turkish Ministry of Defense - in a tweet on Twitter - published scenes from these exercises.
On the other hand, Greece announced the signing of a contract to purchase 18 Rafale combat aircraft from France, worth 2.5 billion euros.
Under the contract, Athens will receive 12 used aircraft in the possession of the French Air Force, in addition to 6 new aircraft with logistical support and related weapons.
International welcome
In turn, the US State Department welcomed the resumption of exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece to discuss the situation in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean.
"The United States welcomes the resumption of the exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey in Istanbul today, and the commitment of the governments of the two countries to this process," said Ned Price, a spokesman for the US Secretary of State, in a tweet.
Price - who was appointed recently by the new US administration - added that his country supports all efforts aimed at reducing tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.
In turn, the European Union announced, through the official for Foreign Affairs and Security of the Union Josep Borrell, that it welcomes the resumption of talks.
Borrell described the resumption of the exploratory talks between Athens and Ankara as an important step towards advancing and strengthening our dialogue and cooperation.
He also praised the important messages and signals to the Turkish authorities to settle tensions last year with the European Union.
The conflict has raged for several months over natural gas between the two neighboring countries, both of which are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
And last year, the dispute escalated militarily.
Greece - a member of the European Union - accuses Turkey of exploring natural gas in marine areas that only Athens (from its point of view) may exploit, while Ankara says these areas belong to the Turkish continental shelf.
The exploratory talks between Ankara and Athens took place for the first time in February 2002, and this conflict led to tension in relations between Turkey and the European Union, which imposed sanctions, but did not actually implement them so far.