Greece, Turkey Face First Crisis Talk Since 2016

Istanbul, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jan, 2021 ) :Greece and Turkey will bow to EU and NATO pressure on Monday and hold the first direct talks over their explosive eastern Mediterranean standoff in four years.

The Istanbul meeting is not expected to make major headway after the two NATO neighbours' gunboats collided in August as their dispute over energy and borders threatened to spiral out of control.

But it adds to the positive tone Turkish President Recep Erdogan has been setting as he tries to repair damaged relations with Europe in the face of a potentially more hostile US administration under President Joe Biden.

And it could lay the groundwork for the eventual delineation of one of the world's most recently discovered regions of proven natural gas reserves.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Athens was entering the so-called exploratory talks "with optimism and hope" -- a comment echoed by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.