Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the rapid advancement of an undersea power cable linking Turkey with the illegally occupied areas in the north of Cyprus where Ankara maintains a military force and props up a Turkish Cypriot pseud0-state. His provocative statements were made on Sunday, the dour anniversary of Turkey’s 1974 invasion of the island republic.
The announcement comes renewed delays in an Israel-Cyprus-Greece electricity interconnection project,
Stalled Progress on undersea power cable
The undersea electricity project known as the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI)—intended to connect the power grids of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel—has hit yet another roadblock. The current impasse stems from Cyprus’ refusal to approve its portion of the ambitious enterprise’s funding, despite prior bilateral agreements with Greece and official commitments from both governments.
The project, backed strategically and financially by the European Union with a grant of €657 million, has repeatedly faced setbacks due to shifting positions from both the Greek and Cypriot sides on key implementation issues.
The latest delay comes from the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (RAEK), which has withheld approval for the regulated revenue of €13.3 million for the year 2025—a necessary step to activate Cyprus’s financial participation. Although Greece’s regulatory authority has already given its approval, Cyprus’s hesitation has stalled the financing process.
A virtual meeting between the two regulators, the European Commission, and the Independent Power Transmission Operator of Greece (ADMIE) is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, in a third attempt to resolve the issue. Without resolution, ADMIE may halt progress, along with Nexans, the French company contracted to build the cable.
Erdoğan’s Quips
While the GSI remains uncertain, Erdoğan has moved quickly to solidify Turkey’s influence in the areas of Cyprus it illegally occupies.
“In this framework, the project to transfer electricity from Turkey via a submarine cable is moving forward. We have also launched seven mobile power generation units to ensure short-term supply security,” Erdoğan said.
He also inaugurated a new hospital and a new roadway, while announcing plans for a separate undersea water pipeline to further integrate the pseudo-state’s infrastructure with Turkey – a project that has been announced by Ankara for many years but has failed to materialize.
The reference to an undersea cable is deemed as a geopolitical move aimed at “reminding” of Turkey’s presence in the eastern Mediterranean in the wake of strategic cooperation between Greece, Israel and Cyprus, as well as between Greece and Egypt, and Egypt and Cyprus, with the EU and US supporting the projects by the latter.
