Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis of allowing Turkey to exert growing control over energy infrastructure projects in the eastern Mediterranean, escalating a domestic political dispute over a planned electricity interconnection between Greece and Cyprus.
In an interview with Greek media, Tsipras said Athens had effectively become dependent on Ankara’s consent to exercise what he described as Greece’s sovereign rights, pointing to complications surrounding the installation of a submarine power cable connecting the two European Union member states.
«Unfortunately, Mr. Mitsotakis’s foreign policy has failed miserably», Tsipras said, arguing that Turkey had become the region’s de facto enforcer, with what he described as U.S. backing.
ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ
The dispute centers on the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnector, a strategically important project intended to strengthen regional energy security and reduce Cyprus’s isolation from European electricity networks.
Tsipras referred to a 2024 incident near the Greek island of Kasos, where Turkish naval activity complicated seabed surveys conducted by an Italian vessel. He also criticized subsequent diplomatic contacts involving a French company, arguing that seeking Turkish consent could establish a precedent undermining Greece’s maritime rights.
Under international maritime law, submarine cables and pipelines are subject to different legal regimes, although competing maritime claims in the eastern Mediterranean complicate their implementation.
Tsipras contrasted the current situation with his administration’s efforts to advance the EastMed natural-gas pipeline, a proposed project linking Israeli gas fields to Europe through Cyprus and Greece.
He also criticized the Turkish-Libyan maritime agreement, which Athens disputes, saying Greece’s regional position had deteriorated under Mitsotakis.
