EU ministers discuss tension between Greece and Turkey

European Union foreign ministers tackle on Thursday one of the bloc's most urgent and complex challenges as they try to persuade their partner Greece and its neighbour Turkey to pull back from the brink of conflict in the Mediterranean Sea.

At informal talks in Berlin, the ministers are set to debate a range of sanctions and other policy options that might convince Turkey - still a candidate for membership in the 27-nation EU - to temper its insistence on drilling for energy reserves in disputed parts of the eastern Mediterranean.

The two-day meeting comes as Turkey and Greece, which are both members of the NATO military alliance, rattle sabers with warships and war games in the area, and as their leaders swap barbs over which of them is in the right and how far they would be willing to go to defend their interests.

Germany, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, has been trying to mediate between Athens and Ankara.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited both capitals on Tuesday, warning that "any spark, however small, could lead to a disaster."

Apparently, he had little success.

Asked on Wednesday by EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell how well the meetings went, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, apparently unaware that a microphone was picking up her remarks, replied, "Hard. A little bit more smooth on the Greek side, but very hard on the Turkish side."

Borrell responded that "the Turkish are very upset" and that "they feel that the Greeks are not reliable."

The EU insists that "all options are on the table" during the foreign ministers' meeting, which Borrell will chair.

That includes sanctions aimed at changing Turkey's course of action, but also other political and diplomatic sticks and carrots.

One country has suggested withdrawing Turkey's EU candidate status.