Turkey, Germany discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia row, East Med

By Mehmet Sah Yilmaz

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's foreign minister on Tuesday discussed with his German counterpart the latest developments on the Azerbaijan-Armenia row and the Eastern Mediterranean.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Heiko Mass spoke over the phone.

The phone call came just days after clashes broke out on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border after Yerevan launched attacks causing civilian casualties.

Since the attacks last Sunday, tensions have continued to escalate with Turkey firmly standing with Azerbaijan.

The EU, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an immediate halt to clashes along the frontier.

Relations between the two former Soviet nations have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Also in the Eastern Mediterranean, tensions have been running high for weeks as Greece has disputed Turkey's energy exploration.

Turkey -- the country with the longest coastline on the Mediterranean -- sent out drill ships to explore for energy on its continental shelf, asserting its own rights in the region, as well as those of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

To reduce tensions, Ankara has called for dialogue to ensure fair sharing of the region's resources.