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Turkish-Greek talks to continue: 64th round of exploratory talks on Feb 22

The previous round took place in Ankara in October

The 64th round of low-level exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey will be held on February 22 in Athens, the Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday. The previous round took place in Ankara in October.

In the wake of his meeting on Thursday in Brussels with his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar reiterated Ankara’s talking points on Friday regarding the demilitarization of Aegean islands, while proposing the co-exploitation of wealth in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish-Greek talks to continue – Ankara seeking wealth co-exploitation in Aegean

According to Manolis Kostidis report for Kathimerini: In the wake of his meeting on Thursday in Brussels with his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar reiterated Ankara’s talking points on Friday regarding the demilitarization of Aegean islands, while proposing the co-exploitation of wealth in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.

“How many times have we said that we want to share wealth fairly in the Aegean, in the Mediterranean?” he said while also accusing Greece of provocations, noting that Athens and Ankara must resolve disputes without involving NATO and the EU.

“Unfortunately, some of the EU members are biased, unilateral and blindly pro-Greek, especially on Greek-Turkish issues,” he said, while again claiming Greece is violating the Treaties of Lausanne and Paris with the militarization of eastern Aegean islands.

During their meeting, mr Panagiotopoulos called for an end to Turkey’s incendiary rhetoric and aggressive stance.