ATHENS – The United States continues to encourage Turkey to refrain from provocative actions, US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt said on Wednesday during a press briefing.

The American response to Turkish claims refuting the sovereignty of specific Greek islands was immediate, he noted. “We were explicit on this,” Pyatt said, and firmly committed to supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Greece.

Pyatt also conveyed the American government’s welcoming of the continuation of exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey that took place in Athens on Tuesday, and of the talks on the positive agenda between the Deputy Foreign Affairs Ministers Kostas Fragogiannis and Sedat Onal, which took place on Monday. Conflicts within NATO only serve the alliance’s opponents, he said, and welcomed the efforts of the Greek government to stabilize dialog with Turkey.