Turkish, Greek defense ministry delegations set to meet

Turkish and Greek defense delegations are set to hold the 4th meeting on confidence-building measures, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The meetings will be held on Wednesday and Thursday via videoconference, it said in a statement on Twitter.

Turkey and Greece agreed to continue talks on confidence-building efforts last month.

Turkey says hydrocarbon drilling activities, the source of tension between the two countries, in the Eastern Mediterranean region are based on its legitimate rights stemming from international law.

It has consistently contested the Greek Cypriot administration's unilateral drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, saying Turkish Cypriots also have rights to the resources in the area.

In 1974, following a coup aiming at Cyprus' annexation by Greece, Ankara intervened as a guarantor power. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded.

The decades since have seen several attempts to resolve the dispute, all ending in failure. The latest one, held with the participation of the guarantor countries -- Turkey, Greece, and the UK -- ended in 2017 in Switzerland.