Ankara may suspend E. Mediterranean energy work pending talks with Athens

Turkey could pause energy-exploration operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea pending talks with Greece, according to presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

He said in an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk on Tuesday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had requested that operations be put on hold as a constructive approach to negotiations.

Long-standing tensions between the NATO allies escalated last week after Turkey’s navy on Tuesday issued an advisory known as a Navtex for seismic surveys in waters between Cyprus and Crete, Reuters said.