Last week, the 61st round of exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece was held in Istanbul. The previous meeting between Turkish and Greek diplomats was held in Athens in March 2016 but the sessions were suspended while Alexis Tsipras was Greece's prime minister.

Despite the suspension of exploratory talks, the two countries held high-level strategic dialogue during Tsipras's time, but bilateral tensions have increased since Kyriakos Mitsotakis was elected Greek prime minister.

The exploratory talks were initiated in 2002 to find fair and equitable solitons to the two nation's conflicts. Turkey and Greece came to the brink of war in 1996 due to the Kardak (Imia) crisis. There are also disagreements over maritime delimitation, Greek side's arming of the Aegean islands, drilling rights and exclusive economic zones (EEZs).

In this context, the recent talks' agenda mainly focused on: