The French vessel Abeille Marengo is due to sail from the port of Heraklion on Monday, barring the unexpected, to restart surveys for the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection, with Athens insisting that France did not ask Turkey for permission and weighing how Ankara might respond.
The departure follows intense diplomatic manoeuvring between Athens, Paris and Ankara. The main unknown is what France’s written notification to Turkey said, and whether Ankara is trying to present it as a request for permission.
Athens says the French did not seek Turkey’s permission or consent, despite Ankara’s persistent demands. Licensing was completed by the Greek authorities at the request of French company Nexans, and the Heraklion station then issued a NAVTEX.
Diplomatic sources said that process itself showed permission was not sought from Ankara, as Turkey was simply the recipient of a written notification. Informing a third country for safety reasons and to avoid tension is not a request for consent and does not recognise its maritime jurisdiction, they said, and cannot be turned into a licensing procedure after the fact because that suits Ankara.
Athens believes Turkey is trying to present as its own diplomatic success a process in which it had no authority to grant permission.
French notification
France’s contact with Turkey took on particular importance as Paris sought to ensure the resumption of work would not lead to new tension in the Eastern Mediterranean.
According to the Turkish press, Ankara had asked to be informed in writing about the ship’s work, including the coordinates of the survey area. Turkish diplomatic sources had hinted that such a communication could be taken as a request for permission.
French Ambassador Isabelle Dumont met Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay in Ankara last Thursday. The meeting has been confirmed, but no details of the talks have been made public.
It remains unclear what the French notification contained, whether there was in fact a note verbale and what wording was used. No document has been published.
Ankara’s change of tone
On Friday, after Greece issued its NAVTEX, Ankara responded with a counter-NAVTEX, disputing Greek jurisdiction over part of the survey area and citing its claims in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Shortly afterwards, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the French ship would carry out surveys that were illegal, in Turkey’s view, in an area Ankara considers part of its continental shelf, and that the process of securing Turkish consent had not been completed.
On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan noticeably softened his tone, saying “everything is normal, everything is good”. There had been no change in the Greek position, and no sign that the French had asked the Turkish authorities for permission.
Athens believes Fidan was mainly managing the issue for domestic consumption, as it is not easy for the Turkish government to explain how it moved from counter-NAVTEXs and demands for consent to saying all is well, without any recognition of a Turkish right to issue licences.
Greek diplomatic sources said Turkey’s domestic handling of the matter was no concern of Athens, and that Greece had exercised its powers in accordance with international law and would continue to do so. Fidan’s change of tone does not mean Turkey has dropped its claims, as its counter-NAVTEXs and official positions remain part of the dispute.
Possible Turkish responses
The first work is planned inside Greek territorial waters. Athens has examined several scenarios for Turkey’s reaction.
In the mildest, Ankara would confine itself to counter-NAVTEXs, diplomatic protests and possibly radio warnings to the French ship, without preventing the surveys. A second scenario involves Turkish warships appearing in the wider area, where they could try to put pressure on the survey vessel and challenge Greek jurisdiction in practice.
The worst case would be an attempt to obstruct the work, as in 2024, when the presence of Turkish warships led to a halt in surveys by the Italian vessel Ievoli Relume.
Greece appears prepared for different levels of escalation, with the ability to monitor the area and deploy Navy units if required.
Athens does not consider a new crisis inevitable, and believes France’s active involvement and previous diplomatic contacts with Ankara could act as a deterrent, though no Turkish reaction has been ruled out. The aim is for the surveys to go ahead without creating a precedent for Turkish shared jurisdiction.
(information from iefimerida.gr)
