Turkey’s Defence Ministry has said it will not allow any unauthorised activity on what it describes as its continental shelf, in its latest objection to the planned electricity link between Greece and Cyprus.

A ministry spokesperson said on Thursday morning that any cable or pipeline laying, or scientific research, on the shelf must be coordinated in advance with Turkey as the coastal state. Ankara cites maritime delimitation agreements it signed with Libya and with the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which only Turkey recognises, and which it lodged with the United Nations on 18 March 2020. Greece and Cyprus reject its claims, and consider the Turkish-Libyan memorandum legally void.

The link, known as the Great Sea Interconnector, would connect the Greek and Cypriot power grids by undersea cable via Crete.

The spokesperson also criticised the military parade held in Nicosia for the 66th anniversary of Cypriot independence, which featured contingents from the United States, France and Britain, as well as Cyprus’s new weapons systems. He repeated Ankara’s claim that the “Greek Cypriot administration”, its term for the Republic of Cyprus, was continuing to arm and deepen military cooperation with third countries, upsetting the “delicate balance” and security environment on the island.

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias was in Cyprus for the anniversary. He attended a memorial service and laid wreaths at the Imprisoned Graves and at the Monument of Democracy and Resistance, and later at the statue of Archbishop Makarios III at the Presidential Palace, alongside Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

The spokesperson said the “provocative actions” of the Greek Cypriot administration and Greece did not help to build mutual trust on the island and instead raised tensions and damaged stability. Turkey has kept troops in the northern part of Cyprus since 1974.

“As a guarantor power, we reiterate that a fair, lasting and sustainable solution on the island of Cyprus is possible only through acceptance of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people,” he said. “Our country will continue to take the necessary measures, in cooperation with the authorities of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, to protect the security, peace and prosperity of the Turkish Cypriot people, as it has done in the past and will continue to do now and in the future.”