Turkey is demanding that Greece seek Ankara's approval before laying any undersea cable connecting Greece to Cyprus, acc...

Turkey is demanding that Greece seek Ankara's approval before laying any undersea cable connecting Greece to Cyprus, according to Turkish sources cited by SKAI's correspondent in Istanbul, Manolis Kostidis. The Turkish position, relayed through diplomatic channels, is that any country planning survey or cable-laying operations in sea zones where Turkey claims sovereign rights and jurisdiction must first contact Ankara through official diplomatic channels. In practice, this means Greece would need Turkish sign-off before work on the Greece-Cyprus electrical interconnection project can proceed. Turkey frames this demand as standard international practice, pointing to the Blue Raman fiber optic cable project as a precedent. That project, Turkey notes, went ahead only after prior coordination with Ankara, and Ankara is now signaling that the Greece-Cyprus project must follow the same model. The electrical interconnection project is being developed with the involvement of French energy giant Meridiam and has the full backing of the Greek government. Greek officials have stated the project will move forward as planned. Turkish political analysts and officials have reportedly warned that if Greece proceeds without coordination, there is a real risk of renewed tensions similar to those that flared previously in the Kasos area, a flashpoint in the eastern Mediterranean where Greek and Turkish claims over maritime jurisdiction have clashed before. Greece and Turkey hold fundamentally conflicting positions on continental shelf boundaries across the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, and Turkey's continental shelf theory, which it uses to justify these demands, is not recognized by Greece or the European Union. #Greece #Turkey #EasternMediterranean