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NATO Announces Talks as Turkey-Greece Tensions Rise

Dorian Jones

   ISTANBUL - Turkey and Greece have agreed to talks to try to avoid any
   accidents as Turkey conducts a major naval exercise in eastern
   Mediterranean waters that Greece has been contesting.

   Fears have been growing of a confrontation between the NATO members.
   Diplomatic efforts floundered until NATO Secretary-General Jens
   Stoltenberg issued a statement Thursday.

   "Following my discussions with Greek and Turkish leaders, the two
   allies have agreed to enter into technical talks at NATO to establish
   mechanisms for military deconfliction to reduce the risk of incidents
   and accidents in the eastern Mediterranean," Stoltenberg's statement
   said.

   Turkey and Greece vehemently disagree over claims to natural gas
   reserves in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the extent of their
   continental shelves.

   Ahead of the two-week naval exercise that began Tuesday, President
   Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a verbal salvo against Greece, accusing
   it of "banditry and piracy."

   The Turkish drill is the latest in a reciprocal escalation of bilateral
   tensions. Ankara's latest move was made in response to Athens'
   deployment of soldiers on the Greek Island of Kastellorizo, close to
   Turkish territory. Greece insists the deployment is only a regular
   rotation of soldiers, but Ankara is accusing Athens of playing a
   dangerous game.

   "This is a kind of testing Turkey -- please do not try to test Turkey,"
   warned professor Mesut Casin, a Turkish presidential adviser. "No one
   can estimate the Turkish response. One day we can wait, we can wait, we
   can be patient. But one day, our answer can be very bad."

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