Turkish channel A Haber claims a “two-scenario trap” over EUNOMIA and the Greece–Cyprus cable – Hürriyet speaks of a “NAVTEX showdown”

The pro-government Turkish channel A Haber speaks of a “provocation under the mask of ‘legal order’” in the Eastern Mediterranean and of a “two-scenario trap” against Turkey and the “Blue Homeland” doctrine, citing the EUNOMIA exercise and the Greece–Cyprus GSI electricity cable. In an exclusive report broadcast on the evening of October 17, the channel’s correspondent Ilhan Tahsin argued that Athens is playing on two different scenarios.

“The first is to bring countries such as France, Italy, the Greek Cypriot side and then Israel onto the field, saying ‘we will not ask for permission’. In a possible escalation they want to line up the armed forces of these countries against Turkey,” Tahsin said. The second scenario, in his words, is aimed at Greek public opinion, as “elections are also approaching” in Greece. These are Turkish media claims, not established facts.

Ankara’s claim about “permission”

The Turkish journalist also claimed that the company carrying out the project must ask Turkish authorities for permission “when it comes to sovereign rights”, linking the issue to the Turkey–Libya memorandum, and that Athens is trying to present it as “we will not take permission, we will only inform”. According to A Haber, the name of the exercise was chosen deliberately to bypass the Turkey–Libya agreement, while it names October 19 and 26 as critical dates and speaks of live fire around Kasos.

The cable is described as a project of about 1,200 kilometres with European funding, which a French company joined after the Mitsotakis–Macron meeting. Turkey had already responded with a counter-NAVTEX from Antalya, disputing the competence of the Heraklion station.

Hürriyet: “a NAVTEX showdown”

Along the same lines, Hürriyet, in a report by Duygu Leloğlu, writes of a “NAVTEX showdown” and of a warning from Ankara to Athens that “that area is mine”. The newspaper says EUNOMIA, with Greece, France, Italy and Cyprus, began on October 16 and ends on October 22, east of Kasos and Karpathos and near Cyprus. It notes that Ankara is not waiting for permission from the contractor but for diplomatic coordination with France as flag state, while the Greek government has stated that Nexans submitted applications only to the Greek authorities.

The Greek and legal position

The tension over the seabed surveys for the cable is peaking in recent days. The French-flagged “Abeille Marengo” is expected to carry out the surveys between Crete and Cyprus after the Greek NAVTEX is issued, for which the application has already been submitted. On Sunday the daily Türkiye had called the Greek NAVTEX for EUNOMIA “pirate”.

Greece’s position is that the cable runs through areas of Greek and Cypriot maritime jurisdiction, where the laying of submarine cables is a freedom recognised by international law of the sea (see our UNCLOS explainer), and that the Turkey–Libya memorandum has no legal effect on third states, a view shared by the European Union.