Exploratory contacts between Greece and Turkey will resume on Monday in Istanbul, after almost five years. Both sides will try to find points of convergence for possible future negotiations regarding the delimitation of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, based on international law.

The Turkish Oruc Reis research vessel has been sailing inside the Greek continental shelf, in an area bordered by the new illegal Navtex, from 5 pm on Monday, raising the thermometer in the Eastern Mediterranean and ignoring the threats of sanctions from the EU. Athens is escalating the diplomatic marathon.

The United States has "been very consistent in calling to stop all provocative actions that could undermine investment confidence in the East Mediterranean region" and affect political stability, US State Department Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources Francis Fannon said on Tuesday, speaking at a virtual roundtable discussion "East Med and the trilateral partnership (Greece, Cyprus, Israel) and its role in regional energy security and economic cooperation in the age of Covid-19 and beyond".