Diplomatic sources in Athens responded in a stern tone to the statement by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which Ankara disputes the NAVTEX notices issued by Greece and Cyprus regarding the commencement of surveys by the French vessel VB Abeille Marengo, as part of the electrical interconnection between the two countries. At the same time, a Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle with the call sign VATOZ17 is conducting surveillance flights south of Karpathos, in the area through which the undersea cable is expected to pass.
“The operations of the French research vessel VB Abeille Marengo will proceed in accordance with the company’s operational plan, in Greek and Cypriot territorial waters and in areas of the Greek and Cypriot continental shelf,” Greek diplomatic sources emphasize in response to the provocative statement by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The same sources point out that “international maritime law is clear and leaves no room for different interpretations.”
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A Turkish UAV is patrolling the area south of Karpathos
At the same time, there is intense activity by Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles in the northeastern and southeastern Aegean, with flights extending from the Kesani area to Karpathos.
According to reports, a Turkish UAV, with the call sign VATOZ17, is flying south of Karpathos, conducting repeated surveillance circuits in the area where the Greece–Cyprus power interconnection cable is to be laid.
According to the same reports, an unmanned aerial vehicle of the AKINCI or ANKA type, which took off from the Dalaman naval base and is carrying out a mission to clarify the surface situation, with the aim of monitoring activity in that specific maritime area.
The UAV appears to periodically turn its tracking transmitter on and off, making it intermittently invisible to flight tracking systems.
According to available information, it is the Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle operating closest to the area of the planned operations.
Fransız Bayraklı Bir Geminin Doğu Akdeniz’deki Kıta Sahanlığımızda İzinsiz Deniz Bilimsel Araştırma Faaliyeti Yürütme Girişimi Hk. https://t.co/0v4nNleDeq https://t.co/hAA3VixIjx
— T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_Disisleri) November 6, 2026
Earlier on Friday, Turkey, in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, escalated its blackmail, stating that it requires a permit application to be submitted to the Turkish authorities for exploration activities to be conducted in areas of the “Turkish continental shelf,” that is, throughout the Eastern Mediterranean.
The statement by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is even more problematic, as Ankara, based on its unilateral declaration of the outer limits of its alleged EEZ, is attempting to overlap with the area of the Greek EEZ as defined by the Greek-Egyptian Agreement.
SEE ALSO: Turkey Bargains Over the Cable: “Cyprus-Greece NAVTEX Notifications Are Invalid; No Permit Request Has Been Submitted to Us”
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 would justify the continuation of the surveys domestically as well.
It also warns of its “determination to protect our sovereign rights under international law,” adopting, as it states, “an approach based on cooperation, dialogue, and coordination” in the region.
SEE ALSO: Dual message from Athens and Nicosia regarding the GSI: NAVTEX, anti-NAVTEX, and the day after
In its statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs states:
“It has come to light that a French-flagged vessel attempted to conduct marine scientific research without a permit, with the aim of laying 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.”
The “Battle” of the NAVTEX
On Friday afternoon, a minor “battle” ensued between the Greek and Cypriot authorities on one side and the Turkish authorities on the other, following the issuance of a series of NAVTEX messages.
The Greek NAVTEX covers the entire cable-laying route up to the Cypriot EEZ. In the areas north of Crete, which include international waters, surveys have already been conducted, even after the Kasos incident. The main remaining part of the surveys concerns the area east of Kasos, extending to the boundaries of the Cypriot EEZ.
SEE ALSO: What We Know About the “Abeille Marengo”: How the French Vessel Will Conduct Surveys for the GSI and Where It Will Pass Through
View Greece’s NAVTEX:
View Cyprus’s NAVTEX
This was preceded by a phone call between Konstantinos Kombos and Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis as part of the close coordination between the two countries.
The Turkish counter-NAVTEX
However, a short time later, Ankara issued a counter-NAVTEX challenging the Greek announcement regarding the French research vessel that will conduct work on the Greece and Cyprus, claiming that part of the area lies within the Turkish continental shelf and demanding its consent for the surveys to take place.
See Turkey’s NAVTEX
With anti-NAVTEX 1105/26, Ankara is bringing back to the table the letter it had sent to the UN on March 18, 2020 (A/74/757), arguing that part of the survey area lies within the continental shelf it has unilaterally declared.
The next step in Turkey’s challenge is even more telling. Ankara claims that it has not granted permission for these specific surveys, characterizes the Greek NAVTEX “unauthorized,” and demands that all research activities in maritime areas it considers to fall under its jurisdiction be coordinated with the Turkish authorities.
This constitutes a direct challenge to the Greek side’s jurisdiction, with Turkey attempting to present its own consent as a prerequisite for such work, citing claims that Athens does not recognize. Moreover, the unilateral submission of coordinates to the UN does not constitute recognition of Turkish claims nor does it delineate a continental shelf.
Source: Protothema.gr
