Turkey and Greece have been disputing their maritime boundaries for decades – and last year, the two nations came close to war when Ankara deployed a survey vessel in contested waters.
Now, after a five-year suspension of their direct talks, the NATO allies are back at the negotiating table.
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Discussions to resolve the standoff in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean kicked off on Monday, but they were preceded by disagreements over the agenda.
Athens wants to limit the talks to continental shelf borders and the size of exclusive economic zones. Ankara says other issues including differences over aerial zones and some Aegean islands should be tackled.
So, does diplomacy have a chance?
Presenter: Sami Zeidan
Guests:
Andreas Theophanous – president of the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs
Nathalie Tocci – director of the Institute of International Affairs and a former adviser to Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief
Galip Dalay – researcher at the University of Oxford