Turkey ready to sit for talks with Greece

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey is ready to meet with Greece's leader to resolve the standoff over energy exploration in contested waters in the eastern Mediterranean, reports Al Jazeera.

The search for gas and oil in the region has sparked a dispute that has seen the two NATO neighbours stage rival air and navy drills in strategic waters between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete.

"Could there be a meeting with Greek Prime Minister (Kyriakos) Mitsotakis? What's essential is what we discuss and in what framework," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul after Friday prayers.

"We can meet if there is goodwill. We can talk via videoconference or meet in a third country," Erdogan said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu later on Friday said Greek Ambassador Michael-Christos Diamessi had been summoned to the foreign ministry in Ankara over an item in the Dimokratia newspaper.

The words "F*** off Mr. Erdogan" appeared in Turkish and English next to a photo of the president in the Greek newspaper.

"A Greek newspaper had a vile front page," Cavusoglu said in Ankara. "We summoned the Greek ambassador to the ministry," he added, quoted by state news agency Anadolu.

At the centre of the Greece-Turkey dispute was Ankara's deployment last month of a seismic research vessel, the Oruc Reis, and an accompanying fleet of warships in disputed waters near the Greek island of Kastellorizo.