EU leaders to pay rare visit to Erdogan to revive relations

The European Union's top two officials will pay a rare visit on Tuesday to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at testing his avowed commitment to improve uneasy ties, France 24 reports.

Years of disagreements over a growing list of issues threatened to boil over last summer when Turkey sent navy ships to support an energy exploration mission in waters claimed by EU members Cyprus and Greece.

Tensions cooled somewhat when Turkey withdrew the vessels and this year engaged in its first maritime talks with Greece since 2016.

The bloc pulled back from its threat to sanction Turkey as a result.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel will now see how Erdogan intends to follow through on his repeatedly stated desire to "turn a new page" in relations.