Greece and France may be closing in on a workaround that could finally get the Great Sea Interconnector moving. The GSI,...

Greece and France may be closing in on a workaround that could finally get the Great Sea Interconnector moving. The GSI, an electricity cable project connecting Greece and Cyprus through the seabed east of Kasos and Karpathos, has been stalled largely because Turkey insists that any work crossing what it claims as its continental shelf requires advance coordination with Ankara. The proposed formula involves French company Nexans, a subcontractor of the majority GSI stakeholder Meridiam, notifying Turkey of planned seabed surveys around October 26 while simultaneously seeking authorization from Athens. The legal distinction is intentional. Athens and Paris argue that a notification is not the same as requesting Turkish approval, while Turkey is expected to claim that notification alone amounts to tacit authorization. Both sides would technically preserve their legal positions. According to a Greek government source, this arrangement could break the current deadlock. The caution is warranted, though. A different Greek official said back in December that the dispute would be resolved by January, and it wasn't. Turkish sources confirmed that as of last Friday, no final formula had been agreed upon, though talks were continuing. Turkey's Defense Ministry has restated its position that any cable laying or seabed research on what it considers its continental shelf must be coordinated with Ankara in advance. Ankara backs that claim with maritime agreements it signed with Libya and the Turkish Cypriot administration, agreements Greece and virtually the entire international community reject as legally void. Those positions were submitted to the UN in 2020. Meanwhile, the Turkish research vessel Oruc Reis is conducting operations in the region through October 25, with Turkish media linking the vessel's activity to plans for a separate underwater pipeline to the Turkish Cypriot-controlled north. The NAVTEX notice for the Oruc Reis was issued the same day Turkey announced its stance on the Greece-Cyprus cable. Turkey has also raised objections to Greece-Cyprus military cooperation with Israel and Egypt, calling it destabilizing for the Eastern Mediterranean. #GreeceC...