Greece and Turkey told German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Tuesday that they did not want to settle their dispute over the eastern Mediterranean with military means, the minister said, saying there was a readiness for dialogue.

Turkey’s foreign minister said on Tuesday Greece must abandon its “maximalist approach” and pre-conditions for dialogue to begin over disputed offshore Mediterranean resources, adding Ankara expects the EU to act as an “honest and objective” mediator.

Turkey warned Greece on Tuesday not to escalate tensions in the eastern Mediterranean or it will not hesitate to do “what is necessary,” though it said it wanted to solve the issue through dialogue and diplomacy.

In a tweet posted on the eve of the anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday paid tribute to the “heroes” of the battle that saw Seljuk Turks, led by sultan Alp-Arslan, defeat the Byzantine army on 26 August 1071.

Greece is ready for a dialogue to help dissolve tensions with Turkey over energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean but the country will also defend its sovereign rights, its foreign minister said on Tuesday.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed that growing tension between Greece and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean is like “playing with fire” and not in anyone’s interest.

Greece is calling on the European Commission to present “different options” on how Turkey can be sanctioned for violating Greek and Cypriot sovereign rights in the Eastern Mediterranean beyond punishing oil company officials, Deputy Foreign Minister Militiadis Varvitsiotis has told Politico.

A close associate and adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday accused Greece of “undermining” efforts to ease tension between the two neighbors over East Mediterranean energy rights, just as German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas heads to Athens and Ankara in a bid to restart high-level diplomatic talks between the two neighbors.

The United States’ recent political withdrawal from many parts of the world is also affecting the likelihood of an American intervention in Greek-Turkish affairs.

“The windows for dialogue between Greece and Turkey must now be opened further and not closed,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in an emailed statement before meeting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his counterpart, Nikos Dendias, in Athens on Tuesday.

Athens will not engage in “any discussions” with Ankara as long as Turkey continues to maintain “military pressure” in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, Greek Minister of State Giorgos Gerapetritis said on Tuesday in the wake of Monday’s comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas heads to Athens and Ankara on Tuesday in a bid to reopen the lines of communication between Greece and Turkey amid a fresh spike in tension between the two neighbors over drilling rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Just when it seemed that Greece and Turkey were entering a phase of de-escalation, the two countries appeared on Monday to be heading for another crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday Turkey’s navy will not back down as Greece “sows chaos” in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, where the countries have deployed frigates in an escalating rhetorical confrontation over overlapping resource claims.

Greece is from now on responsible for any “negative developments” in the Aegean Sea and East Mediterranean and will be the “only one to suffer,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Monday.

Mounting tension between Greece and Turkey over surveys for gas and oil in the Eastern Mediterranean was reportedly the subject of a recent telephone conversation between Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and his British counterpart.

Turkish authorities on Monday issued a navigational telex reserving an area of the sea south of the Greek island of Crete for a few hours on Tuesday.

Erdogan’s Turkey is in a state of overstretch, both at home – a trend manifested in the spike in borrowing costs and the decline of the Turkish lira – and abroad.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is planning to discuss the natural gas dispute in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in Athens and Ankara on Tuesday, a ministry spokesman said on Monday.

Germany’s mediatory effort between Athens and Ankara will continue this Tuesday with visits to Athens and Ankara by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas for contacts with his counterparts, in an effort to start anew the discussions between the two sides.