Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President, stated Wednesday that he had told his colleagues not to hold bilateral talks. This is the latest reverse after having resumed talks last summer to resolve their differences in the Mediterranean.

Those talks had made little progress. Erdogan claimed last week that the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitchells “no more exists” for him. He also accused the Greek leader, Erdogan, of trying to stop sales of F-16 fighter planes to Turkey while he was visiting the United States.

NATO allies Turkey and Greece have been at odds for years over a variety of issues, including maritime boundaries, the extent and size of their continental shelves, airspace, ethnically divided Cyprus, and airspace.