Turkish president, Italian PM speak over phone on Eastern Med

By Berk Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Turkish president held a phone call with the Italian prime minister on Monday to discuss developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, a Turkish authority said.

Turkey’s Directorate of Communications said in a statement that Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Giuseppe Conte made evaluations for a solution to ensure peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean that would protect the rights of all countries and bring win to all sides.

During the phone call, the two leaders also discussed steps to enhance bilateral relations, and agreed to maintain cooperation and dialogue between the two countries, it added.

On Aug. 10, Turkey announced its drill ship Oruc Reis would resume energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey’s decision came following a controversial delimitation deal signed between Greece and Egypt, spurning Turkey’s earlier goodwill gesture to postpone energy exploration in the region.

The ship will continue its work in the Eastern Mediterranean along with the ships Cengiz Han and Ataman until Aug. 23.