Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is urging Greece to cut deals with President Erdogan now, warning that the window w...

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is urging Greece to cut deals with President Erdogan now, warning that the window won't stay open. In an interview with Ta Nea, as reported by Turkish newspaper Star, Fidan said plainly: "My advice to my Greek friends is this: While he is still there, take advantage of this moment and cooperate with him." The statement came alongside Turkey's attempt to link two separate issues: the Aegean territorial waters dispute and the Great Sea Interconnector, the planned undersea electricity cable connecting Greece to Cyprus. According to a Directus report, Erdogan personally raised the GSI with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during talks in New York, questioning why Greece and Cyprus would spend more than two billion euros in European funding to transmit electricity roughly 2,000 kilometers, and suggesting the two countries simply buy power from Turkey instead. The move is a clear attempt by Ankara to position itself as an economic alternative to a project designed specifically to connect Cyprus to Europe without going through Turkey. Erdogan's pitch frames the cable as a cost problem. Greece and Cyprus see it as a sovereignty and energy security priority. Fidan also addressed the Aegean directly. He pushed back on Greece's characterization of a 1995 Turkish parliamentary resolution, which authorized countermeasures if Greece extended its territorial waters beyond six nautical miles. Greece considers that resolution a casus belli. Fidan argued it does not amount to a declaration of war. Turkey is not a signatory to UNCLOS, the international convention that governs territorial sea rights. On maritime surveys, Fidan reportedly said Ankara wants written notification whenever vessels conduct surveys at sea, not just verbal communication. That demand is significant because the GSI project requires subsea survey operations along the cable route. Greek media have referenced a "70-mile formula" in connection with these talks, though its precise terms have not been made public. #Greece #Cyprus #Aegean