Turkey: “This Area Belongs to the Turkish Continental Shelf”
Turkey issued a counter-NAVTEX on Friday blocking Cyprus from conducting geophysical surveys in the Eastern Mediterranean, claiming the area belongs to the Turkish continental shelf. The surveys, planned for October 21 to November 2, were authorized by Cyprus to allow the vessel S/V Kobi Ruegg to carry out research related to the East to Med Corridor undersea cable system within Cyprus's own exclusive economic zone.
Ankara's counter-notice went further than a simple territorial dispute, declaring the Larnaca NAVTEX station that issued Cyprus's notice "unauthorized" and claiming the area falls under Turkish NAVTEX jurisdiction. Turkey also stated it will not recognize the name "Cyprus" under any form, citing the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee and the Treaty of Establishment as the legal basis for its position.
Turkey declared Cyprus's NAVTEX notice "null and void" and said it will never be accepted.
The Turkish announcement from the Antalya station declared Cyprus's NAVTEX notice "null and void" and said it will never be accepted. The move came just hours after Ankara issued a separate counter-NAVTEX targeting the Greek military exercise "Evnomia 2026" east of Crete.
The Turkish objections appear directly tied to upcoming operations for the Great Sea Interconnector project, which will electrically link Crete and Cyprus via a French vessel, the Abeille Marengo. That project has been a consistent source of Turkish friction with both Greece and Cyprus, as it would strengthen energy ties across a maritime zone Ankara refuses to recognize.
Turkey has never signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and does not recognize Cyprus's exclusive economic zone. It submitted its continental shelf claim to the United Nations in March 2020, which forms the basis of today's counter-notice.
