President Trump steps in to ease tension between Greece and Turkey

FILE PHOTO: Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrives for the first face-to-face EU summit since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Brussels, Belgium July 19, 2020. John Thys/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

U.S. President Donald Trump talked on the phone late Wednesday to both Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to express his concern over the tensions between Greece and Turkey.

He urged the two NATO allies to commit to a dialogue over the dispute over the Eastern Mediterranean

Tensions between Turkey and Greece have escalated since Ankara sent its Oruc Reis survey vessel to disputed eastern Mediterranean waters this month, a move Athens called illegal.

Turkey and Greece, both NATO allies, vehemently disagree over claims to hydrocarbon resources in the area based on conflicting views on the extent of their continental shelves in waters dotted with mostly Greek islands.