Greece has rejected an offer from Turkish energy company Bayraktar to sell electricity to the Republic of Cyprus through...

Greece has rejected an offer from Turkish energy company Bayraktar to sell electricity to the Republic of Cyprus through a cable running through the Turkey-occupied north of the island. Athens turned down the proposal, and no deal was signed. The arrangement would have required power to pass through territory controlled by Turkish forces, a condition Greece and Cyprus both consider unacceptable. The offer essentially asked the Republic of Cyprus to depend on infrastructure running through occupied land for its energy supply. Bayraktar had framed the proposal as selling power to what it called "south Cyprus," language that implicitly treats the island as divided into two separate entities rather than recognizing the Republic of Cyprus as the island's sole legitimate government. That framing alone was a red flag for Athens. The rejection signals that Greece will not allow energy dependency to be used as a backdoor to normalize Turkey's occupation of northern Cyprus. Infrastructure deals that require routing through occupied territory have long been a concern for both Nicosia and Athens, who see such arrangements as a way of cementing the partition on the ground. No follow-up agreement has been reached between the parties. #Cyprus #Greece #EasternMediterranean