ISTANBUL, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and Greece on Monday started their first direct talks in Turkey's largest city Istanbul after a five-year break.
The talks are mainly expected to focus on maritime boundaries and oil and gas drilling rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Both sides have earlier expressed their confidence in finding diplomatic solutions to their problems through the meeting.
The two countries have long been at odds over a series of issues, including overlapping claims on hydrocarbon resources in the Mediterranean.
Ankara and Athens previously held 60 rounds of talks between 2002 and 2016. Enditem