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Even as US President Donald Trump had a telephone communication with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Washington appears to have adopted a Janus-faced stance in dealing with the Greek-Turkish dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean as it has refused to take a stand on the legality or illegality of Turkey's massive encroachment on Greece's EEZ especially around Crete.

The German Parliament's legal committee has questioned the validity of the maritime boundaries agreement signed between Turkey and Libya's UN-backed government in November.

On a symbolic trip to the island of Kasos, which Turkish Air Force jets have repeatedly flown over of late as it gets in the way of Ankara's EEZ designs, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis indicated that he wants a dialogue with Turkey but not under threat.

With Turkish provocations escalating in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranen there is a growing debate in Greece about taking differences to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

That is a long and arduous road as it presupposes that the two sides agree about what will be adjudicated out of Turkey's long list of demands and challenges to Greek sovereignty.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu held a phone conversation with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Dec. 24.

No details of the phone conversation were revealed.

Recently Turkey's agenda, along with other countries, has been dominated with the deal Ankara struck with Tripoli last month.

Turkey has issued two fresh navigational telexes reserving an area stretching between the Aegean islands of Kastelorizo and Rhodes, and another inside Cyprus' exclusive economic zone.

Crystal-clear rhetoric and powerful symbolism. The visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Greece met - if not exceeded - expectations.

In yet another blatant violation of Cyprus' sovereignty, Turkey on Thursday sent its Yavuz drillship to an area off the west coast of the island and within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to prospect for hydrocarbons.

The area, which is in Block 7 of the island's EEZ, has already been licensed for exploration to the French-Italian consortium of Total and Eni.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, found common ground during talks in Athens with Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on bilateral relations and on the energy crisis in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone where the Italian energy giant ENI has received an exploration license which Turkey has challenged.

The Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has extensive and long-term plans in the Eastern Mediterranean that do not only include Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but also areas on the edge of the Greek continental shelf, Kathimerini understands.