Lieutenant General Nikos Zachariadis resigned from his post as Head of Greece‘s delegation which holds talks with Turkey on renewing confidence building measures (CBMs) on Monday.

According to media reports in Greece, Zachariadis asked Defense Minister Evangelos Apostolakis to halt negotiations until the next government takes office, after the national elections, which are expected to be held on July 7.

Apostolakis allegedly disagreed with the Lieutenant General and the latter subsequently decided to resign from his post.

High-ranking Greek and Turkish military officials held talks recently in Athens, and the teams are set to meet again in Ankara, Turkey.

The meetings between the delegations of the two countries are part of “Confidence-Building Measures,” undertaken in a bid to ease the tensions that have arisen between the two shores of the Aegean over the last several months.