UPDATE - NATO hosts 4th round of Turkish, Greek technical talks

CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE; ADDS ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEXT MEETING

By Zafer Fatih Beyaz and Kemal Karadag

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish and Greek military delegations held the fourth technical meeting on Thursday at NATO headquarters to discuss ways to reduce the risk of an incident amid rising tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, according to the Turkish National Defense Ministry.

The talks held in Brussels were planned after a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

An initial technical meeting was held Sept. 10.

The next meeting is scheduled to be held on Sept. 24, the ministry said in a statement after the meeting ended.

Greece has disputed Turkey's current energy exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, trying to box in Turkish maritime territory based on small islands near the Turkish coast.

Turkey, the country with the longest coastline in the Mediterranean, has sent out drill ships to explore for energy on its continental shelf, citing that Ankara and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have rights in the region.

Dialogue about fairly sharing resources will be a win-win for all sides, say Turkish officials.

* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur