Europe·since 1 Oct·6 entries
Greece and Turkey: Eastern Mediterranean standoff
Turkey, Greece and Cyprus are contesting maritime jurisdiction through competing NAVTEX notices, survey ships and subsea cable and pipeline projects, and eastern Libya's ratification of the 2019 Turkey-Libya deal adds a third front.
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This week5 entries
State of playtoday 18:58
Libya Ratification
Libya's eastern House of Representatives unanimously ratified the 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum on 20 October. EU foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas said it cannot produce legal consequences for third states, and the European Parliament's EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee condemned it. Turkey's Defence Ministry says third-party assessments cannot invalidate it.
Greece has sent the UN secretary-general a formal protest, and Cyprus's foreign minister says Nicosia is ready to negotiate delimitation with Athens. Greece and Egypt agreed in principle to accelerate talks on extending their 2020 boundary eastward, with no timetable. Cyprus's parliament on 23 October urged the EU Council to consider restrictive measures against Turkey.
Talks Offer And NAVTEX Duel
Egypt's foreign minister repeated Cairo's rejection of the memorandum in Istanbul on 23 October, and Hakan Fidan proposed talks that, per Skai, would exclude Greece.
Turkey issued NAVTEX notices for the Oruc Reis south of Cyprus and for KOBI RUEGG surveys from 21 October tied to the East to Med Data Corridor cable. Greek survey work south of Crete runs through 30 October, the test of whether Turkey acts on its notices.
What comes next
- in 3 daysHeraklion NAVTEX survey work southeast of Crete resumes (27-30 Oct)
Open questions
- Will Turkey act on its NAVTEX notices when the survey ship works between Crete and Cyprus?
- Will Turkey and eastern Libya move to implement the 2019 memorandum now that it is ratified?
Who is who8
Turkey's defence ministry Turkish defence authority
Said on 22 October that third countries' unilateral assessments cannot invalidate the Libya deal, and says the Greece-Cyprus power cable needs Ankara's approval.
22 Oct
Greece Greek government
Says no Turkish permission is needed for the cable, calls the Libya ratification illegal and void, has protested to the UN and is examining an eastward extension of the boundary with Egypt.
24 Oct
Cyprus EU member state and cable partner
Rejects the Libya ratification as contrary to the law of the sea, and its House of Representatives on 23 October asked the EU Council to consider restrictive measures against Turkey.
23 Oct
Eastern Libya's House of Representatives Benghazi-based legislature
Unanimously ratified the 2019 Turkey maritime memorandum on 20 October and repealed two 2020 resolutions that blocked it.
22 Oct
Turkey Regional power contesting maritime jurisdiction
Insists on its own maritime claims, issued NAVTEXs for the Oruc Reis and KOBI RUEGG surveys, and offers talks that would reportedly exclude Greece.
23 Oct
European Union Supranational bloc
Foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas said the memorandum cannot produce legal consequences for third states; Cyprus now asks the Council to weigh restrictive measures.
24 Oct
Egypt Regional state
Its foreign minister repeated Cairo's categorical rejection of the memorandum in Istanbul on 23 October, and Egypt is examining with Greece an eastward boundary extension.
23 Oct
Hakan Fidan Turkish foreign minister
Proposed talks on 23 October that, according to Skai, would not include Greece.
23 Oct
Promises1
Greeceopen
Greece will notify interested parties in writing about the Greece-Cyprus power cable without seeking Turkish permission.
1 Oct · pollar.news
Chronicle6 entries since 1 Oct
19–25 October5 entries
Egypt's foreign minister repeated Cairo's categorical rejection of the 2019 Turkey-Libya memorandum in Istanbul on 23 October. Hakan Fidan then proposed talks that, according to Skai, would not include Greece, leaving Athens outside the format Ankara is offering.
Cyprus's House of Representatives approved a resolution on 23 October rejecting the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum as contrary to the law of the sea, and asked the EU Council to consider specific, proportionate and effective restrictive measures against Turkey.
Turkey issued a new NAVTEX on 22 October announcing the Oruc Reis research vessel's deployment in the eastern Mediterranean, in an area south of Cyprus's Turkish-controlled north, tied to planned infrastructure work. It lands as Greece and Cyprus prepare their own cable survey.
Turkey issued a NAVTEX for geophysical surveys by the vessel KOBI RUEGG from 21 October, linked to the East to Med Data Corridor cable between Saudi Arabia and Greece, in areas Greece considers its continental shelf. Turkish authorities said they coordinated and approved the work.
Libya's eastern House of Representatives unanimously ratified the 2019 maritime memorandum with Turkey on 20 October and repealed two 2020 resolutions that had rejected it. Athens, Nicosia and the EU called it invalid, and Egypt also rejected it.
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