Greece, Turkey Hold First Crisis Talks Since 2016 By Fulya Ozerkan with Raziye Akkoc in Ankara
01/25/21 AT 1:45 PM
Greece and Turkey bowed to EU pressure on Monday and engaged in their first direct talks in nearly five years over an explosive standoff about eastern Mediterranean borders and energy rights.
The three-and-a-half hour meeting produced no breakthrough except for an agreement for the talks to continue in Athens at an undisclosed date.
The talks were held behind closed doors in Istanbul while the Greek and French defence ministers met in Athens to sign a diplomatically-charged deal for Greece to buy 18 Rafale fighter jets.
Turkey has agreed to resume long-stalled talks with Greece on complex territorial disputes, but its calculus appears focused on short-term gains in its relations with the United States and the European Union.