Fidan: Turkey is an “aspirin” for Greek politics – he defends the casus belli (“not a threat of war”) and says Ankara wants written notification for cable surveys

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan argued that the Greek political scene needs “a dose of anti-Turkish rhetoric”, which he likened to “aspirin”. He also defended the casus belli declared by the Turkish Grand National Assembly and said Ankara does not object to the Greece–Cyprus electricity interconnector (GSI), as long as it receives written notification of surveys. Fidan was answering questions from the Greek daily Ta Nea on the sidelines of his speech at the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels on Tuesday, October 20.

“Since May 2023 the two governments have decided to resolve the existing issues, avoid creating tensions and give priority to confidence-building measures. At least, we no longer have dogfights. The Aegean has become a calmer place over the past three years. However, in the Greek domestic political scene a dose of anti-Turkish rhetoric is required. It is like aspirin. Without Turkey, Greek domestic politics could not exist,” he said. According to Fidan, Greek governments “know how to approach the issue but are unable to bear the political cost”.

“It is not a threat of war”

On the casus belli, the Turkish minister said that “many consider it a threat of war. That is the Greek version.” He described it as a 1995 declaration of the Grand National Assembly and “not a law”, according to which, if Greece extends its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles without prior agreement with Turkey, the Turkish government “must take every necessary measure to prevent it”. “This preventive statement has contributed to preserving peace until today,” he claimed. He added that only Recep Tayyip Erdogan has the political legitimacy for a solution: “I advise my Greek friends: while he is still there, take advantage of the moment.”

Athens does not accept this reading. The right of a coastal state to extend its territorial sea to 12 nautical miles is enshrined in UNCLOS, and Greece regards the 1995 decision as a standing threat of force, which it has answered by saying that legitimate defence is an “inalienable right”.

The GSI and “written notification”

On the GSI, Fidan said Erdogan raised the issue with Kyriakos Mitsotakis in New York and that Turkey would prefer to sell electricity, water and natural gas to Cyprus “from a distance of just 70 miles”. “What we ask is that when a vessel conducts surveys at sea, it sends us written notification, not merely verbal… We do not want the status quo to be disturbed,” he said. The remarks came days after Antalya’s counter-NAVTEX for the EUNOMIA exercise, hours after Heraklion’s counter-NAVTEX for the KOBI RUEGG surveys, and a day after he thanked Dbeibah and Saddam Haftar for approving the illegal Turkish–Libyan memorandum. In Brussels Fidan also met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.