Turkey says may pause Mediterranean energy work pending Greece talks

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a televised address to the nation in Ankara, Turkey, July 10, 2020. Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey could pause energy-exploration operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea for a while pending talks with Greece, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Tuesday.

In an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk, Kalin said President Tayyip Erdogan had requested that operations be put on hold as a constructive approach to negotiations.

Long-standing tensions between the NATO allies escalated last week after Turkey’s navy on Tuesday issued an advisory known as a Navtex for seismic surveys in waters between Cyprus and Crete.