NEWS

Energy will not create tension between Greece and Turkey, says Turkish minister

Energy issues will not become a source of friction between Greece and Turkey, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told the English-language Hurriyet Daily News on Wednesday.

“We have the intention of using energy issues not as a reason to create tension but as a reason for growth and opening,” Yildiz told the Turkish daily. “We will see whether other countries will follow this principle.”

He added that the Turkish government has told Greece that it had not current intention of conducting exploration in the countries’ shared sea areas.

On Monday, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkey’s Abdullah Gul, during a Greek-Turkish High Level Cooperation Council which took place in Istanbul. It led to the signing of 25 bilateral agreements.

Ankara is opposed to Greece exploring for oil and gas in the Aegean until a dispute over the delineation of the continental shelf has been resolved.

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