Turkey, Greece to hold fourth round of confidence-building talks

Turkey and Greece on Monday agreed to hold more confidence-building talks.

The Turkish Defence Ministry said on Twitter that the defence ministries of both countries have agreed to hold the fourth round of meetings.

“The date and other details of the planned meeting will be set in the near future,” it added.

Earlier on Sunday, the Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, said his country could not ignore its differences with Turkey over sovereignty over the Mediterranean and other issues, but the solution “is not impossible, even if it was difficult”.

The NATO member states have been at odds on many issues, including sovereignty claims in the Mediterranean, as well as air space and energy resources.

READ: Turkish and Greek ministers clash during press conference

Turkey has consistently opposed Greece’s efforts to declare an exclusive economic zone based on small islands near Turkish shores, violating the interests of Turkey, the country with the longest coastline on the Mediterranean.

Ankara has also said energy resources near the island of Cyprus must be shared fairly between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus.