By Ezgi Akin
ANKARA (Al Monitor) — Turkey and Greece on November 13 provisionally agreed to implement a series of confidence-building measures, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The two NATO allies agreed “to implement or reactivate” a number of confidence-building measures during the course of 2024, the Turkish Defense Ministry stated.
The two countries also agreed to set up a direct line between Ankara and Athens in a bid to “remain in contact and facilitate the implementation” of the measures, the statement said.
The ministry didn’t elaborate on the nature of the new measures to be implemented, but some of the previously agreed-upon 29 measures include decreasing the number of military exercises, joint military drills, training and exchange programs between military academies, as well as other steps to avoid escalation between the two countries’ militaries.
The announcement came after a new round of confidence-building talks between Turkish and Greek defense ministries in Ankara on Monday, November 13. The meetings were attended by high ranking military officials as well as diplomats and other officials, as part of an agreement reached between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in September.