Russia ready to help ease Turkey-Greece tension

Amid the tense stand-off between Ankara and Athens over energy exploration rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, Moscow has said that it's monitoring the situation in the region and would help to start a "genuine dialogue" with all parties.

Nicosia: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday said that Moscow is ready to help ease rising tensions over Turkey's search for energy reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Lavrov said that Moscow is monitoring the situation in the region and would help to start a "genuine dialogue" with all parties that would generate "mutually acceptable solutions".

Lavrov was speaking after a meeting with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades during an official visit to the island nation.

Greece and Turkey have been locked in a tense standoff in recent weeks as Turkish survey vessels and drillships continue to prospect for gas in waters where Athens and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights.

Greek and Turkish armed forces have been conducting military exercises in the area in a show of muscle-flexing to underscore each side's resolve.

European Union members Athens and Nicosia accused Turkey of violating international law and of "gunboat diplomacy". Ankara insisted it's defending its rights and those of breakaway Turkish-Cypriots on ethnically split Cyprus to their rightful share of the area's potential gas deposits.

AP