The research vessel Abeille Marengo is preparing to depart from the port of Heraklion, Crete, most likely next Monday, with the aim of resuming work on the GSI cable to establish an electrical connection between Greece and Cyprus.
According to information from protothema.gr, the research vessel has been chartered for this purpose by the French company Nexans with the goal of conducting continuous six-month research in the area from Karpathos to Cyprus, that is, in an area fully delineated by the nearly simultaneous Navtex messages issued yesterday by Athens and Nicosia. However, the possibility of strong winds in the area could delay the schedule or slow down the research.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
It is clear that the delay in the departure of the French research vessel Abeille Marengo is not related to technical preparations and procedures, but to behind-the-scenes discussions that have been unfolding following the verbal escalation between Athens and Ankara, with the French acting as intermediaries from noon onward.
The lines are more or less clear. Athens emphasizes that a briefing to the Turks can take the form of a communiqué, though relevant sources have made it clear to the French company that under no circumstances should this take the form of a request for permission. On the other hand, the Turks are requesting “written notification” of the start of the surveys in order to ensure “coordination,” while avoiding any public mention of a permit.
However, it is clear that a compromise has not yet been reached, which is why the ship is expected to remain in the port of Heraklion until the early hours of Monday. In this context, the role of the French side will be crucial. It should be noted that, on Thursday afternoon, Turkey’s Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Kemal Bozay, met with the French Ambassador to Turkey, Isabelle Dimont, and it is believed that this issue was discussed.
SEE ALSO: Tensions Escalate Over GSI: Turkey Deploys UAVs to Monitor the Area Where the Cable Will Be Laid
Athens: International Law of the Sea is clear
Last night, diplomatic sources in Athens responded in a stern tone to the statement by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which Ankara contested the NAVTEX notices issued by Greece and Cyprus regarding the start 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 was 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.”
A Turkish UAV is patrolling the area south of Karpathos
At the same time, there was 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, was 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 sources, an unmanned aerial vehicle of the AKINCI or ANKA type, which took off from the naval base in Dalaman and is carrying out a mission to clarify the surface situation, with the aim of monitoring activity in that specific maritime area.
SEE ALSO: Turkey haggles over the cable: “Cyprus-Greece NAVTEX notices are invalid; no permit request has been submitted to us”
The UAV appears to turn its tracking transmitter on and off intermittently, making it intermittently visible to flight tracking systems.
According to available information, it is the Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle operating closest to the area of the planned operations.
Earlier on Friday, Turkey, in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, escalated its coercion, stating that it demands a request for a permit to conduct the surveys be submitted to the Turkish authorities for the surveys to be carried out 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.
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 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: A dual message from Athens and Nicosia regarding the GSI: NAVTEX, anti-NAVTEX, and the day after
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, up to the boundaries of the Cypriot EEZ.
This was preceded by a telephone conversation between Foreign Minister G. Gerapetritis and his counterpart from the Republic of Cyprus, K. Kombo, as part of the close coordination between the two countries.
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.
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
