Türkiye and Greece will resolve all issues related to the Eastern Mediterranean through dialogue, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Athens on Thursday.

"Good neighborly relations, with Türkiye, for example, are of significance not just for both countries, but for all of Europe and trans-Atlantic relations," he said during a joint news conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Türkiye and Greece have been at odds for decades over a range of issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy exploration rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, overflights in the Aegean Sea and the ethnically split island of Cyprus.

Tensions have escalated between the two NATO allies, which are divided over a series of issues and have come to the brink of war three times in the last half-century.

Greece is ready to "extend a hand of friendship" to neighbor and regional rival Türkiye, Greece’s prime minister also said.

"My wish is that, even with delay, our neighbors will choose the road of de-escalation, of legality, of peaceful coexistence without rhetorical outbursts but with constructive actions," Mitostakis said after meeting with Scholz in Athens.

"On my side, they will always find me ready to extend a hand of friendship. We don’t have any room for further needless sources of tension," Mitsotakis said, adding that differences must be resolved peacefully. "That is what our people want, that is what the Greek people want, that is what the Turkish people want, that is what all of Europe wants."

Mitsotakis said it was "truly a shame" that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan "can’t see that he is walking into a dead end when he poisons his people with lies against Greece. Because our neighbors and all our allies know that the Greek islands do not threaten anyone."

"It should not be that NATO partners question each other’s sovereignty," Scholz said in the brief joint press conference with Mitsotakis after their meeting. "All issues must be resolved through dialogue and on the basis of international law. And we are very much in agreement on that."

The German chancellor said it was "in the interest of all neighbors" to exploit the economic potential of the Mediterranean "for the benefit of their respective populations," adding "I got the impression in my conversation that Greece is very willing to do this. And we can and should have confidence in that."

Disputes between Greece and Türkiye include sea boundaries in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean that affect energy exploration rights. Türkiye has also blasted Greece for maintaining a military presence on eastern Greek islands that it says violates international treaties.

Greece counters that it faces a direct threat from Türkiye, which has a significant military presence on the Turkish coast opposite the islands, and has reacted with horror to statements from Turkish officials implying the sovereignty of some inhabited Greek islands could be disputed.

Greece should see Türkiye as a strong and reliable partner instead of a threat, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday, indicating that this approach would be a great achievement for NATO as well as for the region.

Asked about the recent arms swap deal between the two countries -- under which Greece has transferred German-made Marder armored vehicles by Berlin in return for sending its own Soviet-era BMP-1s to Ukraine -- Scholz said it is up to Athens to decide how and where to use them.

On the same matter, Mitsotakis, for his part, stressed that Marder vehicles would be deployed to the northeastern Maritsa (Evros-Meriç) River region, bordering Türkiye, as Greek armed forces see fit.

He said the two countries, despite "excellent relations," disagree on some matters, including Athens' demand for war reparations from Berlin for the damage that occurred during the 1941-1944 Nazi occupation.

In a related development, the main opposition party SYRIZA-PS said there is nothing to be happy or optimistic about the visit in relation to Greek interests.

Scholz's remarks on Türkiye were general, the party noted in a statement, adding that he shunned away from condemning Ankara.

Germany continues to exclude Greece from the German-led Berlin Conference on Libya, into which Ankara is included, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the news outlet Left. gr, close to Greece's leftist main opposition SYRIZA-PS, claimed that Scholz was very careful in wording while talking on relations with Ankara and energy matters.

Similarly, a pro-Greek Communist Party (KKE) news outlet, called 902.gr, said "nothing new came out" of the visit.

Differences between Athens and Berlin on the EU-wide price cap for energy prices remain, it stressed.

On the other hand, Kathimerini, a major pro-government daily, claimed that the visit opened a new chapter in German-Greek relations.