Καλλίμαχος

while Erdoğan was in Istanbul hosting Ukraine peace talks and signing defence pacts with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, his military was sending drones over Greek waters to surveil a French research vessel laying an electricity cable. the cable is the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnector. a routine infrastructure project. conducted in Greek and Cypriot territorial waters, under UNCLOS, the same international law framework every country in the world recognizes. Turkey’s response: issued a counter-NAVTEX declaring the operations unauthorized. demanded that Greece and Cyprus request Turkish permission before conducting surveys in their own waters. sent an AKINCI or ANKA drone from Dalaman naval base to monitor the vessel, switching its tracker on and off to avoid continuous monitoring. Greece’s answer was straightforward. UNCLOS does not require alternative interpretations. the vessel departs as scheduled. this is the other Erdoğan that the peace summit coverage does not show. the same week he positions himself as the indispensable global mediator, his government is claiming sovereignty over Greek and Cypriot continental shelf in direct violation of international law, harassing infrastructure projects with military drones, and issuing unilateral maritime decrees to the UN that no other country recognizes. western leaders keep flying to Istanbul because they need him at the table. Greece and Cyprus are living with what that table looks like from the other side.