"NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke by telephone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday (28 August 2020). They discussed recent developments in the eastern Mediterranean," the statement reads.
According to the statement, Stoltenberg stressed the need to resolve the crisis through the international law and promote peaceful dialogue.
Erdogan, in turn, stated that the alliance should not support unilateral steps "violating the international law and harming peace in the region" against the backdrop of the strained Turkish-Greek relations, the president's office said later in the day.
The Turkey-Greece tensions exacerbated over the past over the past few weeks as Turkey intensified the drilling closer to the Greek border, ignoring the calls to vacant the disputed waters. Greece mobilized its armed forces and warned it would stand up for its sovereignty by all available means, including military.
Earlier in the day, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said after an informal summit of EU foreign ministers that Brussels might resort to industry sanctions against Ankara if the talks on the drilling in disputed waters fail.
