EU ministers discuss Greece Turkey stand off

European Union foreign ministers tackled one of the bloc's most urgent and complex challenges Thursday 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 Greece and Turkey, both members of the NATO military alliance, rattle sabers with war games in the area and their leaders swap barbs over who is in the right, and just how far they would be willing to go to defend their interests.

EU Ministers will also discuss sanctions for people in Belarus following protests and unrest regarding the presidential elections earlier this month.