Greek FM meets with Turkish counterpart on sidelines of security forum

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, agreed on Thursday to set a date for the start of exploratory talks between Athens and Ankara, according to diplomatic sources.

The two officials met briefly on the sidelines of the Bratislava Global Security Forum in the Slovakian capital, Greek and Turkish media reported.

Sources in Athens also said that Dendias took the opportunity to express Athens’ opposition to Turkey’s planned opening of the beach at Varosha, the fenced-off southern quarter of the city of Famagusta in Turkish-occupied Cyprus.

The brief meeting came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Ankara’s commitment to proceed with its plans in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean in an interview with a Qatari newspaper.