Greece has blasted the European Union for imposing unprecedented sanctions on Russia in the wake of the Ukraine war, admitting that the move backfired economically.

Greece and Turkey have started a new round of exploratory talks to settle a long-running dispute over energy exploration and territorial rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says he welcomes moves by Turkey to defuse the current tensions between the two countries over sea boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, stressing that onus is on Turkey to reduce tensions.