Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper is warning that France holds the deciding card on whether the Greece-Cyprus undersea power c...

Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper is warning that France holds the deciding card on whether the Greece-Cyprus undersea power cable triggers a new military standoff in the eastern Mediterranean. The Great Sea Interconnector, a planned electricity link connecting the European mainland to Cyprus and eventually Israel, has EU backing but faces direct opposition from Ankara. Turkey claims the cable's route crosses its continental shelf, a position Ankara formalized by notifying the United Nations of its claimed coordinates in 2020. Athens flatly rejects the claim, saying it has no obligation to inform or coordinate with Turkish authorities on the project. According to Hurriyet, "various proposals" are being discussed between Paris and Ankara to avoid a crisis. The paper describes France's position as decisive, both for the cable's future and for preventing a repeat of the 2020 eastern Mediterranean standoff, when Greek and Turkish research vessels were shadowed by warships on both sides. A French vessel is involved in the GSI project, which is what gives Paris direct leverage in the dispute. Hurriyet suggests that if France declines to coordinate with Turkey, Ankara could escalate, potentially putting naval assets back in the same waters. The same report also touches on a separate dispute near Crete, where Libya has filed a formal protest claiming Greek oil and gas exploration overlaps with its continental shelf. Greece has rejected that claim as well. Turkey's framing here is straightforward: it wants a veto, or at least a seat at the table, over EU energy infrastructure running through waters it considers its own. Greece and the EU view that position as having no legal basis. #GreeceTurkey #GreatSeaInterconnector #EasternMediterranean