Turkey is haggling over the cable: “The Cyprus-Greece NAVTEX notices are invalid; no permit request has been submitted to us.”

Turkey has now officially escalated its blackmail through a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that it requires a request for exploration permits to be submitted to the Turkish authorities for exploration to be conducted in areas of the “Turkish continental shelf,” throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, in other words.

The Turkish ministry, stating that it has canceled the NAVTEX notices issued by Greece and Cyprus, appears to be haggling until the last minute, in order to secure a permit request that will justify the continuation of the surveys even domestically.

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

06.11.2026 22:18

Fidan insists after his visit to the pseudo-state: Coexistence of two states is the most realistic solution

06.11.2026 21:43

A “heated” three-day period for the Cyprus issue: The background to Fidan’s visit and what appears to be “falling into place” shortly before the trilateral meeting

SEE ALSO: A dual message from Athens and Nicosia regarding the GSI: The NAVTEX, the anti-NAVTEX, and the day after

It also warns of the “determination to protect our sovereign rights under international law,” adopting, as it states, “an approach based on cooperation, dialogue, and coordination” in the region.

The following is the statement from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

It has come to light that a French-flagged vessel attempted to conduct unauthorized marine scientific research, with the aim of installing an undersea cable, within our continental shelf, the outer limits of which we notified the United Nations on March 18, 2020.

The unauthorized notices to mariners issued for this purpose by Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus [i.e., the Republic of Cyprus] have been revoked by our country.

With regard to the portion of the activities that the vessel in question plans to carry out and which falls within the limits of our continental shelf, no request for authorization has been submitted to our country, in accordance with the customary rules of international law of the sea.

Our determination to protect our sovereign rights under international law is absolute, and we will continue to adopt an approach in the region based on cooperation, dialogue, and coordination.

Dual message from Athens and Nicosia regarding the GSI

It is recalled that, as of 2:13 p.m., the NAVTEX from the Heraklion Hydrographic Station has been in effect, reserving the required maritime area for the French research vessel Abeille Marengo’s surveys regarding the laying of the GSI’s cableGSI’s iodine.

“Eastern Cretan Sea—Southeastern Cretan Sea—Eastern Mediterranean: A survey operation for the installation of an undersea cable will be conducted by the “Abeille Marengo” from November 6, 2026, to March 6, 2027.”

SEE ALSO: Technical work on the cable is moving forward: What ADMIE and GSI are announcing following the Cyprus-Greece NAVTEX

Reports circulating in the Greek media since this morning indicated that the French-flagged research vessel had notified the Heraklion Port Authority of its intention to depart today from the port, which explains why the NAVTEX took effect today.

Following Athens’ lead, the Larnaca Search and Rescue Coordination Center also issued a related NAVTEX at 6:00 p.m.

SEE ALSO: What we know about the “Abeille Marengo”: How the French ship will conduct the search for the GSI and where it will pass through

_{*With information from Proto Thema.}