Istanbul (dpa) - Turkey and Greece held their first direct talks in five years after months of sabre-rattling and acrimonious claims over disputed waters, and as Ankara aims to repair its ties with the EU.

The 61st round of consultations between the neighbours and NATO members took place on Monday in Istanbul.

They were described as "exploratory," with the expectation for more formal meetings to follow.

Analysts did not expect immediate or quick results, but said it was a positive sign that they had resumed discussions at all.

Tensions between Turkey and Greece were inflamed last year after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared he had "opened the gates to Europe," triggering an exodus of refugees to the border.

The two nations have also been at odds over natural gas reserves and maritime boundaries, with both claiming the right to prospect and drill for energy resources in the same part of the eastern Mediterranean.

The stand-off with both Greece and Cyprus last summer saw Turkey send research vessels into contested waters, EU allies dispatch ships to the region to back Greece's claims, and both Ankara and Athens carry out manoeuvres with frigates and fighter jets.

The conflict put ties with the European Union under pressure. The bloc threatened Turkey with sanctions in December should it not de-escalate the conflict.

After a virtual meeting with his 26 EU counterparts on Monday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who was in Turkey last week, said the politicians had decided to hold off on sanctions for now.

"We did not decide to sanction Turkey today, because we see that there are positive developments," he said.

"There are no Turkish ships in the contested areas in the eastern Mediterranean anymore; exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece have begun this evening in Istanbul. Those are all positive signals that we had waited for for a long time, which should now not be strained by sanctions."

The Turkish delegation in Istanbul was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal and Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, with diplomat Pavlos Apostolidis at the head of the Greek team.

While agreeing to meet, the two sides disagreed over what to talk about.

Turkey says everything's on the table: maritime borders and exclusive economic zones in the Aegean Sea, the demilitarization of Greek islands off the Turkish coast and differences over airspace.

Greece only wants to talk about the boundaries of continental shelves in the Aegean and economic zones.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu - who was in Brussels last week to meet top EU officials - said Ankara was prepared for talks without pre-conditions, unlike Athens.

Greece accuses Turkey of illegally exploring for natural gas off its islands. Ankara rejects the allegations, saying the waters belong to the Turkish continental shelf.

The stand-off in the Mediterranean also severely tested ties between Turkey and France, but Erdogan recently signalled reconciliation with Paris as he outlined a wider rapprochement with the bloc.

Erdogan said Turkey was prepared to put relations with the EU back on track. Ankara is keen to turn a new page in its relationship with its largest trading partner, its fragile economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.