Turkish, US leaders discuss East Mediterranean by phone
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his counterpart President Donald Trump discussed the latest developments and bilateral relations over the phone on Wednesday.
- Türkiye
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 02:00 | 27 August 2020
- Modified Date: 02:00 | 27 August 2020
Turkey's president discussed bilateral relations and regional developments over the phone with his US counterpart Wednesday, especially regarding the Eastern Mediterranean.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reminded Donald Trump that Turkey is not a party creating instability in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish Communications Directorate said in a statement.
He stressed that Turkey proved with "concrete actions" that it wants to reduce tensions and establish a dialogue on the matter.
Greece has disputed Turkey's current energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean, trying to box in Turkish maritime territory based on small islands near the Turkish coast.
Turkey -- the country with the longest coastline on the Mediterranean -- has sent out drillships to explore for energy on its continental shelf, saying that both Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have rights in the region.
Dialogue for fairly sharing these resources will be a win-win for all sides, say Turkish officials.
Turkey has also called foul on Athens for seeking EU support for blocking Ankara's legitimate energy exploration.