Turkish Defence Ministry demands prior coordination on the Greece–Greek Cypriot–Israel cable; EU allots €658 million to 898 km Crete–Cyprus link

According to a 24 September Habertürk report, Ministry of National Defence spokesman Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk said at the weekly briefing after 10:00 that, under international law, cable and pipeline laying and scientific research on the continental shelf must be coordinated with Türkiye in advance, and that unauthorised activity disregarding its rights would not be permitted. The same briefing recalled the demilitarised status of the Eastern Aegean islands under the 1923 Lausanne and 1947 Paris treaties. According to Turkish Minute, Ankara bases this demand on the 2019 Libya maritime jurisdiction memorandum and the continental shelf coordinates it submitted to the UN in 2020.

According to a 25 September Turkish Minute report, the project envisages 898 km between Crete and Cyprus and around 324 km between Cyprus and Israel, with a capacity of up to 1,000 MW in each direction; the EU has allocated €658 million to the Crete–Cyprus link and Cyprus €100 million from its own recovery plan. Greek grid operator IPTO applied to the Cypriot and Israeli regulators for investment approval in August 2026. According to a 24 September ProtoThema report, Athens and Nicosia argue, based on Article 79 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, that coastal state permission is not required for a cable and that permission applies to pipelines; Türkiye is not a party to the Convention. On the same day, 24 September, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu accused Erdoğan at the UN General Assembly of occupying northern Cyprus and threatening Greece. It is recalled that Türkiye deployed warships during survey work off Kasos and Karpathos in 2024.