Greek Prime Minister, NATO Secretary General Discuss Situation In Eastern Mediterranean

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th September, 2020) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have discussed the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, the prime minister's office said.

"Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has held today a phone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. During the conversation, the parties discussed the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean after the withdrawal of the [Turkish] exploration vessel Oruc Reis," the office said in a statement on Thursday.

The tensions between Ankara and Athens escalated last month after Turkey's Oruc Reis began exploration drilling in the Greek-claimed waters in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Greece, which considers this territory to be its exclusive economic zone, has mobilized its armed forces to high alert and vowed to protect its sovereign rights by all necessary means.

Earlier in September, Oruc Reis left the disputed area for its base near Turkey's Antalya amid the increasing tensions in the region. After that, Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said that Athens believed that the resumption of probing contacts with Turkey was close as Ankara had withdrawn its vessel.