Greece and Turkey have launched yet another round of preliminary talks in Athens, trying to find common ground over maritime border disputes ahead of the European Union summit in late March, Reuters reported.

The preliminary talks are meant to lay the groundwork for formal negotiations, but the two countries have not made much progress despite having met more than 60 rounds since 2002 and cannot even agree on what issues to discuss.

After a five-year hiatus, officials met in January after months of tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. Diplomatic sources said that on Tuesday, another round of talks resumed in one of the central hotels of Athens, but details on the merits of the meetings were not provided.

Athens said it would only discuss the demarcation of exclusive economic zones and the continental shelf in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean and not issues of national sovereignty.

Ankara, which hopes to improve its relations with the European Union, which has backed EU member Greece and threatened sanctions against Turkey, said it wants all issues, including airspace and the Aegean islands, to be discussed. The end of the talks is scheduled for Wednesday.

European leaders are expected to discuss the Eastern Mediterranean at a meeting on March 25-26.