Greece and Turkey agreed on Tuesday to resume exploratory talks on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean.

A brief statement by the Greek ministry of foreign affairs read “Greece and Turkey have agreed to hold the 61st round of exploratory talks in Istanbul, in the near future.”

Turkey also gave no timing for a resumption of the talks but a senior official said they could begin by the end of the month. “There are positive developments,” the official said.

Reuters reports that the agreement to resume talks was achieved following a telephone call between the leaders of Turkey, Germany and the European Union which took place on Tuesday.

As part of a videoconference between European Union leader Charles Michel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the latter stated that the “partial momentum” which the parties had at one time after the establishment of dialogue should be maintained with reciprocal steps.

He added that he hoped there could be new, more positive developments on the horizon, including an update on the customs union that exists between the two entities and improvements in the areas of visa-free travel and migration.