BEIRUT, LEBANON (8:30 A.M.) – Turkey has notified Greece, Israel and the European Union of the necessity to obtain its permission regarding activities affecting its continental shelf in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, as reported by the state-owned Anadolu Agency.
This came through notes sent by Ankara to the three parties, against the background of the supposed passage of the submarine cables in the project to link electricity networks between Israel, Greece and Cyprus from Turkey’s continental shelf in the eastern Mediterranean, according to what Turkish diplomatic sources told Anadolu Agency on Monday.
The sources pointed out that on March 8, Israel, Greece and Cyprus signed a memorandum of understanding to implement a project to connect the electricity networks of the three countries through submarine cables, with the support of the European Union.
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The project extends from the city of Hadera in Israel by sea, to Cyprus, and from there also via the sea, to the island of Crete in Greece.
The Turkish diplomatic sources indicated that protest notes were sent to the embassies of Israel and Greece and the European Union Mission to Ankara, in this regard.
The sources indicated that the submarine cable route between the islands of Cyprus and Crete passes from the continental shelf of Turkey, according to the maps contained in the documents related to the project.
The sources emphasized that the concerned parties must obtain permission from Ankara regarding activities that affect its continental shelf, in the event that laying the cables passing through it requires a preliminary study in accordance with international law, or informing Turkey in advance of a reasonable period about those activities and their scope in the event that they do not warrant a study Preliminary.
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They pointed out that Turkey’s position on these points was confirmed through protest notes sent to the three aforementioned parties.
