Greece Rejects Turkish Permission Demand as Cyprus-Crete Power Cable Surveys Near Restart

Stay connected to Greek City Times for Free on Google News
Click NOW

Greece is refusing to seek Turkish permission for seabed surveys linked to the Great Sea Interconnector, as Ankara again warns it will block activity in waters it claims as part of its continental shelf.

The dispute has placed the Cyprus-Crete electricity link at the centre of another major confrontation between Athens and Ankara in the eastern Mediterranean.

The company behind the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) is completing preparations to resume the outstanding seabed surveys, with discussions underway with the Greek government over the timing of a formal request for a survey vessel and the issuance of a NAVTEX.

Athens has made clear that the project will proceed.

Around 60 per cent of the required surveys have already been completed, according to Greece’s power grid operator Admie. The remaining section is in waters where Greece and Turkey maintain competing maritime claims.

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis has described any attempt to obstruct the project as “inconceivable”, pointing to the cable’s status as a European project of common interest and its €657 million European Commission grant.

Turkey demands coordination with Ankara

Turkey has responded by reaffirming its long-standing position that scientific research and the construction of cables or pipelines in what it calls the “Turkish continental shelf” must be coordinated with Ankara.

Turkey’s Defence Ministry has warned that it will not permit what it considers unauthorised activity in those waters.

Ankara bases its maritime claims partly on the 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum, which Greece rejects as legally invalid.

Turkey also submitted its claimed continental shelf boundaries to the United Nations in 2020 as part of its broader Blue Homeland doctrine.

For Athens, accepting Turkey’s demand for permission or formal coordination would carry significant legal and political consequences.

Greek officials argue that such a move could be interpreted as recognition of Turkish claims and undermine Greece’s sovereign rights in the region.

Athens rejects compromise over notification

Recent reports had suggested that a possible compromise could involve Greece notifying eastern Mediterranean countries about the planned surveys rather than directly seeking Turkish approval.

That option now appears increasingly difficult.

Under normal maritime practice, a NAVTEX provides information about activities such as surveys and is issued by the relevant coastal authority. Greece does not want the process to become a mechanism through which Turkey effectively exercises control over waters that Athens considers part of its own maritime jurisdiction.

The issue is particularly sensitive because the outstanding surveys extend into the area between Kasos and Cyprus.

The dispute echoes the confrontation of 2024, when Turkish warships intervened after an Italian-flagged research vessel entered waters Ankara claimed as its own near the Greek island of Kasos.

Changing the cable route would not solve the dispute

There has also been speculation about altering the GSI route to avoid a marine park recently established by Turkey.

Greek officials have rejected the idea that the marine park is the fundamental obstacle.

The original cable route passes well away from the area in question, while Turkey’s latest position extends far beyond the marine park.

Ankara’s objection covers the wider maritime area it claims as its continental shelf.

As a result, simply changing the route would not necessarily resolve the dispute and could significantly increase the project’s cost and complexity.

Cyprus again at the centre of tensions

The cable dispute comes as Turkey increases pressure around Cyprus and the wider eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey has also issued a NAVTEX for the Oruc Reis research vessel to conduct surveys linked to a proposed natural gas pipeline between Turkey and the occupied territories in Cyprus.

Athens has condemned unilateral energy activity that does not involve the Republic of Cyprus, arguing that it violates Cypriot sovereignty and sovereign rights under international law.

The Great Sea Interconnector therefore represents more than an infrastructure project.

For Greece and Cyprus, it is increasingly tied to the wider struggle over maritime rights, energy resources and strategic influence in the eastern Mediterranean.

With Athens refusing to seek Turkish permission and Ankara warning against what it considers unauthorised activity, the next survey operation could become a major test of Greek-Turkish relations.

Stay updated with the latest news from Greece and around the world on greekcitytimes.com.
Contact our newsroom to share your updates, stories, photos, or videos. Follow GCT on Google News and Apple News.