Türkiye open to energy cooperation with Greece, minister says

ISTANBUL

AA photo.

Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar stated on Nov. 6 that Türkiye remains open to eastern Mediterranean energy cooperation with Greece, despite Athens previously rejecting Turkish proposals for political reasons.

“When it comes to cooperation with Greece, I would welcome working together. Why not? We are talking about broader cooperation,” Bayraktar told a group of journalists in Istanbul in response to a question.

Bayraktar cited Türkiye’s previous proposals to supply electricity to Turkish Cyprus through an undersea cable, using renewable energy generated in Türkiye to replace the island’s reliance on fuel-oil-fired power generation.

The proposal has faced opposition from Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, which brought the matter before the European Union, he said.

In April 2026, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) clarified that it would not consider including a separate Türkiye-Turkish Cyprus connection in its 10-year network development plan without the consent of the transmission system operator certified to cover the entire island.

The EU, meanwhile, has backed the competing Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), a project designed to link the Greek Cypriot administration with Greece and eventually Israel.

Bayraktar added that Ankara offered to allocate power capacity for companies supplying electricity to Greek Cyprus via the proposed undersea link, but the offer was rejected for political reasons.

Türkiye is also considering building a natural gas pipeline to Turkish Cyprus, “a project that could enable cleaner electricity generation on the island and potentially allow gas supplies to reach its southern part,” Bayraktar noted.

“Such cooperation could benefit both countries. If another party or we discover natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean in the future, the pipeline could also be used for reverse flows. Gas could be transported to the island, from there to Türkiye and, through Türkiye, to European markets,” Bayraktar said.

“This would allow us to develop an alternative to existing supply routes,” he added.

Energy initiatives in the eastern Mediterranean remain a flashpoint between Türkiye and Greece, with each side actively attempting to derail the other’s plans.

In October, Türkiye issued a new navigational warning covering parts of the eastern Mediterranean as its research vessel Oruç Reis prepared to conduct surveys related to a planned undersea natural gas pipeline connecting southern Türkiye with Turkish Cyprus.

Greece, meanwhile, is expected to issue a Navtex notice by Nov. 9, paving the way for a French-flagged vessel to resume seabed surveys for the GSI electricity interconnector.

Additionally, Bayraktar announced that Türkiye’s seismic research vessel Oruç Reis has set sail for Pakistan to carry out offshore oil and gas exploration activities.

The minister did not disclose when the vessel had departed or how long it was expected to operate off Pakistan’s coast.