Billion-Dollar Israel-Europe Power Link Stalls Amid Regional Feud

Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of using “hypocritical and provocative” language on Gaza, while alleging that Ankara is also working to derail a major energy link planned between Israel, Cyprus and Europe.

“Turkey has been making threats and has been acting on threats against Cyprus, especially in the exclusive economic zone,” Kombos told News Media in a televised interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

At the center of the dispute is the Great Sea Interconnector, a proposed subsea power cable that would connect Israel with Cyprus and then link Cyprus to Greece and the wider European electricity network.

“The main project of the electrical connection between Greece-Cyprus and then Cyprus-Israel has been blocked by Turkey because of illegal claims they have in terms of delimitation in the exclusive economic zone,” Kombos said.

The approximately €1.9 billion Great Sea Interconnector is expected to transmit as much as 1,000 megawatts over more than 1,200 kilometers of underwater cable. The European Union has pledged €657 million for the Cyprus-Crete segment, which is intended to bring Cyprus into the European power system and eventually provide Israel with a more direct route to the European electricity market.

The cable project has been slowed by funding challenges and complicated by geopolitical disputes involving rival Greek and Turkish claims over maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

“The fact that we have someone challenging all the bases and all the norms of international law cannot be the answer to how we plan the future of our people,” Kombos said.

Those broader disputes shaped Kombos’ pointed reaction to Erdoğan’s address before the U.N. General Assembly.

“We decided to stay in the room and hear Mr. Erdogan’s speech,” Kombos said, referring to his presence alongside Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. “And we are both, at the same time, thinking that this is hypocritical and provocative.”

Kombos argued that Erdoğan’s references to the U.N. Charter conflicted sharply with Turkey’s conduct on Cyprus, the Mediterranean island divided for decades.

“It’s an ongoing violation, an act of aggression, of invasion, of occupation,” he said. “So it’s a very clear example of a distance between rhetoric and action, words and deeds.”

In his Sept. 22 U.N. speech, Erdoğan launched a forceful attack on Israel, accusing its government of refusing to end its “occupation” and describing Gaza as “the most inhumane and shameful concentration camp of our time.” He also alleged that Israel has a “genocidal mindset.” Israel has repeatedly denied accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza.

Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when a coup supported by Greece’s military junta was followed by a Turkish military intervention. The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus governs the south, while Turkish Cypriots, backed by Turkey, administer the northern third. The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Ankara, and a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone runs between the two sides.

Repeated attempts to reunify the island have failed to produce a lasting agreement. U.N.-sponsored negotiations have focused on a bizonal, bicommunal federation, whereas Turkey has increasingly promoted the creation of two separate states.

Kombos said Cyprus remains committed to restarting negotiations from the point where they collapsed in 2017, but maintained that meaningful progress will depend on Ankara.

“We need Turkey to give the green light to the Turkish Cypriot leadership,” he said, arguing that a two-state settlement “runs contrary to everything this very organization and the United Nations Security Council have decided.”

The United Nations has recently renewed efforts to restart the peace process. Secretary-General António Guterres visited Cyprus from July 28–29, holding separate and joint meetings with Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman as he sought to move the sides toward a “comprehensive and sustainable settlement.”

Kombos also raised concern over the possibility of Turkey obtaining U.S. F-35 fighter jets.

“This is something that is of concern to us, of course, as well as to other countries in the region,” he said. “We cannot just accept this as the usual day at the office. This is something that’s important. It’s upsetting regional balances.”

At the same time, Cyprus has moved significantly closer to Washington.

Kombos said the U.S.-Cyprus relationship is “probably right now at the highest level we have ever been,” pointing to strategic dialogue, military cooperation, joint exercises and work to make Cypriot facilities compatible with assets used by the U.S. and NATO partners.

Earlier this month, Washington renewed Cyprus’ exemption from U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations restrictions for fiscal year 2027, allowing transfers of US defense articles and services. Cyprus is also eligible for U.S. Foreign Military Sales and the Excess Defense Articles program.

“We want to make sure that we are an active, useful partner in the international system,” Kombos said, arguing that Cyprus’ location and close ties with Israel, Gulf states, Europe and the US give it an increasingly important regional role.