Washington has welcomed the recent talks between Turkish and Greek officials, calling the discussions a crucial step toward achieving greater unity within NATO.
"This is a time when we need unity and cohesion between our allies, certainly between and among our NATO allies. We always regret the escalation of provocative statements," U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday.
"The tensions within an alliance between two alliance members certainly do not help anyone. To that end, we welcome the recent meeting in Brussels between Anna-Maria Boura, Prime Minister (Kyriakos) Mitsotakis' diplomatic adviser, and Ibrahim Kalın, President (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan's spokesperson and chief adviser, and we continue to encourage these discussions at all levels," Price said.
The comments come after senior officials from Greece, Türkiye and Germany met Monday in Brussels, with German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit saying further meetings were likely, however, he declined to give any details. He stressed that the content of the discussions was confidential.
Following weeks of tensions between Ankara and Athens, the meeting brought together Kalın, Boura and the foreign and security policy adviser to the German chancellor, Jens Ploetner.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Athens in October and called for closer dialogue between Türkiye and Greece to solve bilateral problems and de-escalate tensions in the Mediterranean.
He said good neighborly relations between Ankara and Athens are vital not only for the two countries but for Europe and NATO.
Call for diplomacy
NATO on Tuesday also encouraged using diplomatic means to resolve the differences between the two neighbors.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) after Greek aircraft attempted to interfere in a NATO training mission over the Aegean Sea on Monday, a NATO official said Türkiye and Greece were “valuable allies” that work together as part of NATO.
“The Mediterranean is of vital importance for NATO and we urge Greece and Türkiye to solve any differences in the Aegean by diplomatic means and in a spirit of allied solidarity."
Highlighting that the two countries established a "military de-confliction mechanism" in 2020 to reduce the risk of incidents in the Eastern Mediterranean, the official said: "At a time when Russia's war on Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe, it is even more important for Allies to stand together."
Earlier on Tuesday, Türkiye’s Defense Ministry announced that Ankara provided the “necessary response” to Greek jets trying to block a NATO flight mission being conducted by Türkiye.
"Combat and support aircraft of our Air Force and the AWACS aircraft commissioned by NATO performed the Nexus Ace training mission, which was notified to all allies 24 hours in advance, in international airspace over the Aegean Sea on Monday," the ministry said in a statement.
Although Greek aircraft tried to prevent the mission, the Turkish air force saw the mission to completion, Ankara said.
Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, has complained of repeated provocative actions and rhetoric by Greece in the region in recent months, including arming islands near Turkish shores that are demilitarized under treaty obligations. Ankara says that such moves frustrate its genuine efforts for peace.
The Greek harassment of Turkish fighter jets conducting NATO missions is the latest in an array of incidents that spiked tensions in the Aegean, including Greek coast guard boats opening fire on a cargo ship in international waters and the continued pushbacks by Greek elements recorded by Turkish UAVs.
Turkish officials have repeatedly stressed that Ankara is in favor of resolving all outstanding problems in the region through international law, good neighborly relations, dialogue and negotiation. Türkiye has also criticized the European Union’s stance on the Eastern Mediterranean dispute, calling on the bloc to adopt a fair attitude and abandon its preferential treatment of Greece under the pretext of EU solidarity.
