Turkey Moves to Lock Occupied Cyprus Into Its Energy Grid
Turkey has revived major energy infrastructure plans for the occupied north of Cyprus, pushing ahead with an electricity cable and a natural gas pipeline that would further bind the north to Ankara's energy grid.
High-level talks in Ankara brought together Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar (who is also Erdogan's son-in-law), and the north's so-called "prime minister" Unal Ustel. Officials said feasibility work on the electricity interconnection is already complete, while the gas pipeline is moving toward an investment phase.
"It is entirely a matter dependent on the decision" of Turkey and the north alone — Yilmaz
Ustel called the gas pipeline a "project of the century," drawing a direct parallel to the underwater freshwater cable Turkey previously laid from the Anatolian peninsula to Kyrenia. He said natural gas would first be used for power generation before expanding into broader energy use across the north.
Yilmaz acknowledged that EU regulatory frameworks create some technical complications for the electricity cable, but was explicit that natural gas infrastructure faces no such constraints. He said the gas project is "entirely a matter dependent on the decision" of Turkey and the north alone, signaling Ankara intends to move forward regardless of objections.
Both Yilmaz and Ustel repeated Ankara's demand that any Cyprus settlement must include recognition of "sovereign equality" and "equal international status" for the north. Ustel also restated his long-running position that the island consists of "two peoples and two states" and that a settlement cannot happen without formal recognition of that framework.
Turkish energy authorities are expected to visit the north in June to advance implementation. The Republic of Cyprus maintains that all energy planning on the island must be grounded in international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
