European Council meeting gets under way with Turkey high on agenda

Ahead of the two-day extraordinary European Council meeting that starts on Thursday in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested on Wednesday that Greece and Turkey had come close to war during their protracted summer standoff in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"It's hard to imagine how small the distance between military conflict and peaceful settlement can get in some cases," Merkel told a session of the German lower house of parliament.

"Tensions with Greece and the Greek-Cypriot side are high, yet Turkey is a NATO partner. And it shows remarkable efforts in hosting refugees," Merkel told the Bundestag.

"We should balance our relations carefully and focus on cooperation," she said, describing relations with Turkey as "multidimensional."

For his part, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a message to Turkey on Wednesday saying that the ...