Turkey issued two anti-NAVTEX notices within hours on Saturday, directly challenging operations tied to the planned Cret...

Turkey issued two anti-NAVTEX notices within hours on Saturday, directly challenging operations tied to the planned Crete-Cyprus undersea electricity cable, the East to Med Corridor project. The second notice targets geophysical survey work inside Cyprus's own exclusive economic zone, which Ankara claims falls within its continental shelf. Cyprus's maritime authority in Larnaca issued a NAVTEX authorizing the vessel S/V KOBI RUEGG to carry out geophysical surveys in the Cypriot EEZ between October 21 and November 2. Turkey responded by declaring the Larnaca station "unauthorized," claiming the area falls under its own NAVTEX jurisdiction and asserting that its continental shelf boundaries were formally submitted to the United Nations back in March 2020. Turkey also used the notice to repeat its position that Cyprus does not represent the state founded in 1960, and that using the name "Cyprus" does not constitute recognition of the Greek Cypriot administration. Ankara went further, stating that any attempts to "legitimize illegal claims" through NAVTEX "are null and void and will not be accepted." The first anti-NAVTEX came earlier Saturday, targeting the Greek station in Heraklion after it issued notices for the multinational EUNOMIA 2026 naval exercise south of Kastellorizo on October 19. Turkey claimed that area falls under the authority of its Antalya station, a position Athens flatly rejects, pointing to International Maritime Organization rules that designate Heraklion as the sole authorized station for that zone. Turkish newspaper Hurriyet ran the story on its front page Saturday, claiming that France holds the key to preventing a "crisis" in the Eastern Mediterranean and warning of a potential direct confrontation between Turkey and Greece. According to SKAI's Istanbul correspondent Manolis Kostidis, Ankara is demanding that Athens inform and coordinate with Turkish authorities before proceeding with the cable project and obtain what Turkey calls "the necessary permission." The cable route runs through waters that Turkey unilaterally claims as part of its so-called "Blue Homeland" doctrine, the expansive maritime claim it submitted to the UN in 20...