The foreign ministers of Turkey and Greece met on Thursday for the first time after between Greece and Turkey the conflict began to escalate. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias met at the Global Security Forum in Bratislava, Slovakia, the agency Reuters reports.
The diplomats discussed “some problematic issues.”
In August, tensions between Greece and Turkey began to rise sharply when Turkish and Greek warships collided in the Mediterranean, but subsequently eased when Ankara and Athens agreed to resume negotiations.
Greece has accused Turkey of illegally conducting seismic operations in parts of the Mediterranean Sea claimed by Athens and Cyprus, but Turkey claims that its activities do not violate international law.
Turkey withdrew its ships from the controversial waters last month so the countries could begin diplomatic talks ahead of the EU leaders’ meeting. After the summit, EU leaders said they could “punish” Turkey if the country does not abandon its controversial actions in the Mediterranean.
