Turkey should stop 'threats' against Greece for talks to begin: PM Mitsotakis

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday asked Turkey to do away with "threats" against his country if talks on de-escalating tension in the eastern Mediterranean are to kick off.

"Let threats go away so that the contacts can begin," the said as he met a visiting senior official of the Chinese Communist party, as quoted by news agency AFP.

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The comments came as Athens denied any talks with Ankara brokered by NATO to resolve the issue.

On Thursday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said both the countries have "agreed to enter into technical talks at NATO to establish mechanisms for military de-confliction to reduce the risk of incidents and accidents in the eastern Mediterranean".

"Greece and Turkey are valued allies, and NATO is an important platform for consultations on all issues that affect our shared security."

However, Greece later denied any such talks, saying they "do not correspond to reality".

"Published information claiming Greece and Turkey have agreed to hold so-called 'technical talks' on de-escalating tensions in the eastern Mediterranean do not correspond to reality," Greece's foreign ministry said.

"De-escalation will only take place with the immediate withdrawal of all Turkish vessels from the Greek continental shelf."