Foreign ministers and senior officials from several Persian Gulf countries met in Athens on Thursday, as Greece seeks to expand alliances to counter tension with regional rival Turkey.

Greece and Turkey remain locked in a dispute over boundaries and resource rights in the eastern Mediterranean, which last year led to a dangerous military build-up in the region for months.

Officials from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates met with the foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt who already hold regular contacts, and were joined by video link by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

The participating countries have broadly sided with Greece in the eastern Mediterranean dispute.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the seven participating countries were planning to have regular contacts and meetings, but insisted that for cooperation was necessary to solve “multidimensional challenges in our wider neighborhood”.

But he also said the nations were united in the “condemnation of illegal acts” which “undermine peace and security”, adding that the purpose of the meetings was: “good neighborly relations and resolving disputes based on international law.”

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source AP