Billion-dollar power link connecting Israel to Europe hits roadblock in bitter regional feud

UNITED NATIONS — Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of "hypocritical and provocative" rhetoric over Gaza while warning that Ankara is trying to obstruct a major energy project linking 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 Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Kombos pointed to the Great Sea Interconnector, a planned subsea electricity cable linking Israel to Cyprus and Cyprus to Greece, connecting the island to Europe’s power grid.

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"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 roughly €1.9 billion Great Sea Interconnector is designed to carry up to 1,000 megawatts across more than 1,200 kilometers of subsea cable. The EU has committed €657 million to the Cyprus-Crete section, which is intended to end Cyprus’ isolation from the European electricity system and eventually connect Israel more directly to the European market.

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The project has faced financial delays and geopolitical tensions tied to competing Greek and Turkish maritime claims 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 tensions also framed his sharp response to Erdoğan’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly.

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

Kombos said Erdoğan’s appeals to the U.N. Charter stood in stark contrast to Turkey’s record on the divided Mediterranean island.

"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."

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Erdoğan delivered a blistering attack on Israel during his Sept. 22 U.N. address, accusing the Israeli government of refusing to end its "occupation" and saying Gaza had become "the most inhumane and shameful concentration camp of our time." He also accused Israel of having a "genocidal mindset." Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations that it is committing genocide in Gaza.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a coup backed by Greece’s then-military junta was followed by a Turkish military intervention that left the island split. The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus controls the south, while the northern third is administered by Turkish Cypriots with Turkey’s support. The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey, and a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone separates the two sides.

Efforts to reunify the island have repeatedly stalled. The U.N.-backed framework has centered on a bizonal, bicommunal federation, while Turkey has in recent years backed a two-state solution.

Kombos said Cyprus wants negotiations to resume from where they broke down in 2017 but argued that progress ultimately depends on Ankara.

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

The U.N. has recently stepped up efforts to revive the process. Secretary-General António Guterres traveled to Cyprus from July 28–29, meeting separately and jointly with Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman in an effort to advance talks toward a "comprehensive and sustainable settlement."

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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.