Turkey Claims to Have Prevented Fugro Gauss Surveys and Canceled Cyprus NAVTEX

Turkey claims to have prevented surveys by the vessel Fugro Gauss, flying the flag of Gibraltar, which was acting on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus. According to Turkish media, Ankara issued a counter-NAVTEX, canceling the NAVTEX of the Republic of Cyprus.

Sources from the Turkish Ministry of Defense stated that "our air and naval assets have been deployed in the region to take the necessary measures," adding that they are closely monitoring the ship's activities.

Ankara maintains that any activities in the Turkish continental shelf must be coordinated in advance with Turkey. The newspaper "Milliyet" reports that Turkey prevented a similar attempt by Greece near Karpathos island in July.

Diplomatic sources emphasize that the fiber optic cable project is different from the "Great Sea" electricity interconnection project, but both are subject to the same legal procedures.