Diplomatic sources dismiss reports of meeting between Dendias and Cavusoglu

Diplomatic sources in Athens on Tuesday dismissed reports of a meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers on January 25.

No such meeting between Greece’s Nikos Dendias and Turkey’s Mevlut Cavusoglu has been “planned or agreed,” they said a day after Turkey’s Foreign Ministry announced the relaunch of technical talks between the two sides.

“The Greek minister of foreign affairs has had a friendly relationship with his Turkish counterpart for several years, but a meeting between the two in the next few weeks has not been planned or agreed. Mr Dendias, of course, remains open to the possibility of a meeting with Mr Cavusoglu, when conditions allow it,” the sources said, without elaborating.

Earlier, speaking to European Union ambassadors in Ankara, Cavusoglu also appeared to challenge the January 25 meeting with his Greek counterpart, saying that he had spoken to Dendias about the issue on Monday.

“We agreed to meet and will set a date for that meeting later,” he said.