Greece will begin talks with Turkey on maritime borders in the Eastern Mediterranean as soon as Turkish provocations stop, Reuters reported referring to the PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“(Our country) can and wants to discuss the demarcation of maritimes zones in the Aegean Sea, in the eastern Mediterranean, based on international law. But not under threats,” Mitsotakis said during a meeting with China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi who is visiting Athens. “Let the threats go for talks to begin.

“Once the provocations end, discussions will begin,” he said

Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Greece and Turkey have agreed to negotiate to avoid accidental clashes in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey said it supports NATO's initiative and the talks were not about solving bilateral issues, but about measures that have been taken by the military of the two countries so far.

Commenting on the NATO statement, Greek diplomats said that the condition for the dialogue is Turkey's refusal to provoke provocations in the region.