Karamanlis rejects Turkish permit for Greece-Cyprus cable, calls Libyan ratification a show of force

Speech at the War Museum

On Sunday evening, 25 October 2026, former prime minister Kostas Karamanlis addressed an event organised by the Union of Retired Army Officers for the anniversary of 28 October, held at the War Museum. Former New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras attended, and the two exchanged a warm handshake. Karamanlis devoted much of the speech to Greek-Turkish relations, describing Libya's ratification of the Turkey-Libya memorandum as a negative development. Setting the tone, he told the audience:

Nobody respects someone who does not defend his rights, his principles, his homeland.

He added that nobody takes seriously a person who cannot stand up when his interests are harmed.

The cable and Turkish permission

Karamanlis argued that Greece cannot accept any Turkish permission request concerning the electricity interconnection between Kasos and Cyprus, regardless of how the step is labelled. He put it this way:

Any request for Turkey to grant a permit for the cable cannot be accepted. Whether it is called information, an announcement or otherwise.

He warned that afterwards Greece would be unable to do anything in the Aegean without Turkey's permission, not even the smallest infrastructure project between its islands. According to him, Ankara opposes the link even though it is a European project, which shows that Turkey believes it must have the final word on matters that should be self-evident in the area. He described such a step as a highly dangerous precedent for Greece's sovereign rights in the Aegean.

Libya's ratification and the 2019 memorandum

Libya's parliament ratified the Turkey-Libya memorandum, which Karamanlis called a negative development for Greece's national interests. He acknowledged that the ratification may produce no legal results, but said it was a demonstration of power, influence and a fait accompli imposed by the neighbours. He indirectly but clearly disagreed with Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, whose line is that the ratification changes nothing compared with the memorandum's signing in 2019. Gerapetritis has also left open the possibility of informing Turkey about the cable, while stressing that this is not a licensing request. Karamanlis additionally commented on a statement issued by the United States State Department about the memorandum.

A broader critique of Turkish strategy

Karamanlis rejected the view that Greece exaggerates Turkey's conduct or that the disputes can be resolved through mutual concessions. He treated the casus belli, the grey zones, challenges to the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone of the islands, demilitarisation and Turkish moves on marine parks as parts of one integrated plan rather than separate disagreements. In his telling, Ankara aims to overturn the status quo in the Aegean, gain rights in its heart at the expense of the Greek islands and control the sea up to the 25th parallel. He said every Greek government since 1974 tried dialogue and a climate of détente, and that these efforts failed, as practice showed.

Criticism of allies and partners

Karamanlis accused allies and partners of acting as opportunistic neutrals who keep equal distances between perpetrator and victim. He pointed to European arms cooperation with Turkey and to their stance on Cyprus, and said pressure is being applied to Greece on several issues. He also said it was time to send a message to NATO and the EU:

It is time to tell NATO and the EU that good accounts make good friends.

He then listed demands he attributed to allies and partners, among them not talking to Russians, not cooperating with China, backing Albania's EU bid despite its treatment of the Greek minority, accepting the unbalanced Prespa agreement, recognising Kosovo, sending arms to Ukraine and dropping German reparations for the Occupation. The list also included adopting the woke agenda.