The two largest opposition parties in Greece have demanded an explanation from the Greek government after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu publicly confirmed media reports that Turkey and Greece held secret talks in Berlin, mediated by Germany, Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported on Wednesday.
The Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) and the social democrat Movement for Change (KINAL) have urgently demanded that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis explain after Çavuşoğlu’s revelation.
While Mitsotakis last week denied claims in Greek media about the talks, Çavuşoğlu on Tuesday said at a press briefing that Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın and a delegation from the Turkish Foreign Ministry met with German and Greek officials in Germany.
Relations between Turkey and Greece have been increasingly strained on a number of issues including the migrant crisis at their common border, offshore hydrocarbon drilling around Cyprus and Turkey’s maritime delimitation agreement and military cooperation with the Tripoli-based government in the Libyan conflict.