Greece is pressing ahead with its plans and resuming the exploration process in the Aegean for laying the power cable that will link it with Cyprus and Israel.
Research ships will restart their work with the prospect of deploying the cables for the Great Sea Interconnector around the Greek island of Kasos.
There are some concerns that Turkey might try to obstruct the operations, invoking the controversial and in reality null memorandum it signed a few years ago with the Tripoli government in Libya delimiting the two countries’ zones; the agreement’s legality had been challenged by the United States, the European Union, the Arab League and Tripoli’s rival Libyan government in Benghazi.
Ankara claims the project is an intrusion on its maritime zone. In a similar spirit, it not only disputes Greek sovereignty over some of Greece’s smaller islets in the Aegean, but has gone so far as to claim that even some of its internationally known inhabited islands like Crete, Kasos and others, do not have their own continental shelf or maritime zone.
Some point to the previous phase of explorations near Kasos, in July 2024, when Turkish warships were deployed to the area and interfered with the research ship’s radio frequencies.
In the present environment it would be a rather extreme act for Turkey to interfere with the project again; it would only produce tension and no real gains.
First, although the arrest of opposition leader and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has not met with the fierce reaction one might have thought, it has still put the Turkish president on the defensive.
Second, it would contribute to a further deterioration of the already very tense relations with Israel, which views the project through the energy security prism as it will connect it with the European power grid, and at the same time is part of the puzzle of strengthening regional alliances infrastructure schemes, including the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC).
And third, a potential further delay would mean additional costs for the French company, Nexans, responsible for manufacturing the cable and carrying out the marine operations, a development that would most likely create friction with Paris given its interests, both geopolitical and commercial.
Given all that, one wonders if this would be the right time for Turkey to act in a way that would upset the relative calm with Greece that has proved useful to both countries.
In any case, the issue offers Erdogan an opportunity to show some restraint and a positive attitude, a behavior that in today’s environment could benefit him on many levels.