42 AEGEAN SEA (JUDGMENT) the matter to the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 3 March 1975 to Say: "The Greeks have answered positively to Our proposa1 concerning talks prior to Our going to The Hague. These [talks] did not start yet. The object of the talks will be the special agreement (compromis) which will define the basis of the case." (Memorial, para. 268.) 102. According to the information before the Court, those were the respective positions which the two Governments had taken up a short time before their Foreign Ministers met in Rome on 17-19 May 1975 to discuss, inter alia, the question of the continental shelf in the Aegean Sea. Furthermore, in the light of the diplomatic exchanges, the Greek Government can hardly have been left in any doubt as to the nature of the proposa1 regarding the Court which the Turkish Government would understand to be the subject of the discussions at the Rome meeting: namely, a joint submission of the dispute to the Court hy agreement. 103. Reference is made to the proceedings at the Rome meeting in a later Greek Note Verbale of 2 October 1975, from which it appears that the Greek delegation submitted a draft text of a compromis for negotiation, but the Turkish delegation said that they were not yet ready to discuss it and needed more time to prepare themselves. The meeting ended with the issue by the two Foreign Ministers on 19 May 1975 of a brief Joint Communiqué, which included the following statements: "The questions relating to the continental shelf of the Aegean Sea were discussed and initial consideration was given to the text of a special agreement concerning the submission of the matter to the International Court of Justice. . . It was agreed that the meetings between experts would be continued in the near future." (Application, Ann. III, No. 1.) According to the above-mentioned Note Verbale of 2 October 1975, a committee of experts was to meet at the earliest possible date "to negotiate the special agreement", and to explore a Turkish idea in regard to joint exploitation. The Turkish Government also referred to the Rome meeting, in a Note of 18 November 1975. It there spoke of the Greek delegation having : ". . . agreed to seek a negotiated settlement of the differences, bearing also in mind the Turkish proposa1 for joint exploration and exploitation of resources, and to try to prepare, if necessary, a draft special agreement for thejoint reference to the International Court of Justice of those aspects of the situation which, they rnight agree, were the points of genuine disagreement between the two sides" (ihid., Ann. IV, No. 3).