The position of Athens that as long as the provocative actions of Turkey continue, there is no space for dialogue, conveyed, according to diplomatic sources, Nikos Dendias to Mevlut Tsavousoglou, during their telephone conversation today.
According to the same sources, the communication between the two sides was initiated by the Turkish Foreign Minister.
As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Dendias himself announced via Twitter, they talked about “the conditions that would allow a meeting of the two sides in the near future”.
Σε τηλεφωνική μου επικοινωνία με τον Υπουργό Εξωτερικών της Τουρκίας, @MevlutCavusoglu, συζητήσαμε σχετικά με τις συνθήκες που θα μας επέτρεπαν μια συνάντηση στο προσεχές διάστημα.
— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) November 8, 2020
However, the message sent by the Minister of Foreign Affairs was that, as long as “Oruc Reis” does not leave, the possibility of a meeting is not “on the table”.
Ankara, however, has shown that it does not deviate from its plan. The renewal of NAVTEX for the activities of “Oruch Reyes” in the south of Kastellorizo and east of Rhodes, before even the completion of 24-hours after the telephone conversation between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in October 30th, is indicative of Ankara’s intentions to maintain the climate of tension in the region.
From the Athens side, there a number of estimates. The most prevalent of these is the cessation of the activities of “Oruc Reis” in November 14th, in order to proceed with the necessary maintenance work in Antalya and return after some time.
The two main escalation scenarios are the dispatch of a floating drilling rig to the “tri-national” of Greece, Turkey, Cyprus or, if Mr. Erdogan decides to take the crisis to extremes, the “activation” of the research areas at west of the 28th meridian.
