Turkey, Greece agree on deconfliction mechanism in East Med

Turkish and Greek military delegations have reached a "common understanding on general principles" on the Eastern Mediterranean in meetings at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

A series of technical talks between Turkish and Greek military delegations had been planned after a phone call between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the Turkish defence ministry said in a statement. 

“Turkey and Greece reached a common understanding on ‘general principles’ in military delegations’ meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels."

“The next meeting, where the technical details of the coordination for the safe functioning of the elements in the Eastern Mediterranean will be discussed, is planned to be held at NATO Headquarters on October 5, 2020,” the statement noted.

A NATO statement said the agreement between Turkey and Greece included a hotline to avoid accidents in the sea and air.

“The mechanism is designed to reduce the risk of incidents and accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean. It includes the creation of a hotline between Greece and Turkey, to facilitate de-confliction at sea or in the air,” NATO said. 

READ MORE: Will the international community find a fair solution in the east Med?

Turkish and Greek military delegations held a series of technical talks, beginning on September 10, at NATO headquarters in Brussels to discuss the Eastern Mediterranean.

The sixth round of the talks was held on Tuesday, according to the defence ministry. 

Tensions between Greece and Turkey have eased somewhat in the last couple of weeks and the two governments have agreed to begin exploratory talks to resolve their disagreement.

READ MORE: Greece: 'Close to resuming' talks with Turkey on east Mediterranean