Turkish pro-government newspapers have labeled Greece, Cyprus and Israel a "triple alliance of evil" over plans for an u...

Turkish pro-government newspapers have labeled Greece, Cyprus and Israel a "triple alliance of evil" over plans for an undersea electricity cable linking the three countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. The rhetoric followed a formal warning from Turkey's Defence Ministry, which stated that no undersea cable or pipeline activity would be permitted in maritime areas Ankara considers part of its continental shelf without Turkish approval. The ministry said any activity disregarding what it calls Turkey's rights and interests "would not be accepted," and that Turkish authorities were already monitoring developments and taking what it described as necessary measures. Several major Turkish outlets ran the story. Star newspaper coined the "triple alliance of evil" framing, while Akşam and Posta both carried the Defence Ministry's warning in connection with the Greece-Cyprus-Israel cable project. The news site T24 also reported on the ministry's response to the joint initiative. Turkey is basing its position on continental shelf boundaries it has submitted to the United Nations, as well as the Turkish-Libyan maritime memorandum signed in 2019, a deal that Greece and Cyprus have repeatedly rejected as illegal under international law. The undersea electricity cable project is part of broader energy cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean, and fits into a pattern of trilateral partnerships that Ankara has consistently opposed. Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus and disputes the maritime zones through which such infrastructure would pass. The dispute is the latest flashpoint in longstanding disagreements over maritime jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, a region where overlapping territorial claims have repeatedly brought Greece and Turkey to the edge of confrontation. #Greece #Turkey #EasternMediterranean