Greece silent on interconnector after major security meeting
Source: Cyprus Mail
The Great Sea Interconnector project was absent from announcements and discussions in Greece following a meeting of the country’s National Security Council (Kysea) on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides had said of the interconnector that “we should await Kysea’s official announcements”. However, in official announcements after the meeting, no mention was made of the project.
Instead, according to the official announcement made immediately after the meeting, its main subject had been “the national strategy for maritime space and the training and specialisation of the maritime special planning”.
In addition, the Greek government said, the matter of “long-term defence armaments and the planning of the armed forces for the period between 2025 and 2036” has also been discussed.
The Cyprus Mail contacted the Greek defence ministry to ask whether the interconnector had been discussed at the meeting but was informed that the ministry was not in a position to comment.
Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias spoke to reporters after the meeting had drawn to a close, and first touched on the matter of maritime special planning and the map the country’s government had released of its maritime claims in the Ionian, Aegean and Mediterranean seas.
“For the first time, this country is setting the rules for the organisation of its maritime space. Maps now reflect the use, but also the activities which can be developed in the marine zones, the development of tourism, the protection of the environment and cultural heritage, transport and the exploitation of energy resources,” he said.
He added that the map “constitutes a holistic spatial planning framework and is a necessary condition for the successful development of a blue and circular economy, clearly reflecting the human activities which can be carried out in all of our country’s maritime zones”.
The matter of the map is one which has strained relations between Greece and Turkey throughout the day, though the Greek government was, according to news website Protothema, insistent that the map should not have come as a surprise to Turkey, given the fact that the country had been ordered to draft a maritime spatial plan by the European Court of Justice in February.
Nonetheless, Turkey’s foreign ministry did issue a response to the map on Wednesday afternoon, saying that “some of the areas in the maritime spatial planning declared by Greece in accordance with European Union legislation violate our country’s maritime jurisdiction areas in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean”.
“We emphasise once again that Greece’s unilateral actions and claims will not have any legal consequences for our country,” it said, adding, “international maritime law encourages cooperation between coastal states in enclosed and semi-enclosed seas such as the Aegean and the Mediterranean”.
As such, it said, “our country is always ready to cooperate with Greece in the Aegean Sea”.
Meanwhile, the country’s Ankara University released its own maritime spatial planning map, outlining its claims in the Black Sea, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean in line with the country’s “blue homeland” doctrine.
The Republic of Cyprus submitted its own maritime spatial plan in 2021, while Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported that the north’s authorities also intend to compile their own. The Cyprus Mail contacted the north’s authorities for comment on the matter and did not receive a response.
Earlier on Wednesday, Christodoulides had insisted that Turkey had not “blocked” the Great Sea Interconnector project.
He said the undersea cable project which, if completed, will link the electricity grids of Cyprus, Greece and Israel is “a project backed by the EU”.
To a remark that Turkey was happy it had blocked the project, Christodoulides said nothing like that had happened.
“Turkey can celebrate, it can say anything it likes, as it does on many issues. We are doing our own job,” he added.
He said there were agreements in place with the company that would be laying the cable and advised waiting for developments.
Asked about the Greek government’s decision to proceed with maritime spatial planning, he said he was aware of the decision and considered it to be “in the right direction”.
Maritime spatial planning is set out in an EU directive, which establishes a framework for maritime spatial planning aimed at promoting the sustainable growth of maritime economies, the sustainable development of marine areas and the sustainable use of marine resources.
Maritime spatial planning must take into account interactions between activities on land and at sea, reduce conflicts and create synergies, as well as foster cooperation across borders between EU countries.
The original article: belongs to Cyprus Mail .
