Delegations from Turkey and Greece have launched a week of consultations on issues ranging from trade to terrorism, in the latest effort to ease continuing tensions in the Aegean.
The groups, led by Mr Mithat Balkan on the Turkish side and Mr Anastase Skopelitis from Greece, discussed tourism and prospects for co-operation in environmental protection during the first day of meetings in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
The delegations are due to meet the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr Ismail Cem, after the Ankara talks.
The meetings will be followed by talks in Athens on Thursday and Friday on economic relations, multilateral co-operation and organised crime. A second round of talks is expected in September.
The talks were agreed on during a meeting between Mr Cem and the Greek Foreign Minister, Mr Georges Papandreou, in late June in New York. The two ministers are expected to meet again during the Stability Pact Summit on the reconstruction of the Balkans in Sarajevo on Thursday and Friday.
The decision in New York to hold the meetings had received a cautious welcome from Turkish analysts, who expressed doubt as to whether the process would lead to concrete results on more contentious issues.
For Ankara, a key issue will be terrorism, especially its allegations of Greek support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule in south-east Turkey for the past 15 years.
Greece has repeatedly denied Turkish accusations over the PKK, and has shown reluctance to discuss the Kurdish issue. Athens and Ankara are at odds on issues ranging from the limits of their territorial waters and air space to continental shelf rights in the Aegean Sea. A major bone of contention is Cyprus, which has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded the island.
Ankara categorically refuses to back down on its support for the breakaway Turkish republic in the north, while Greek officials call on Turkey to show some flexibility, arguing that it could help Ankara's plan to join the EU.