France's engagement with Ankara for the GSI project caused controversy in Athens

The NAVTEX message issued by Türkiye last night for the French-flagged ship Abeille Marengo, which will take part in the project, to conduct research caused the opposition in Athens to direct harsh criticism towards the government.

Opposition parties evaluated that all these developments could mean "getting permission from Türkiye" and demanded an explanation from the government regarding the content of the note and the developments.

Nikos Andrulakis, leader of the main opposition party, Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), claimed in his speech in the parliament that there was no need to inform Türkiye.

PASOK Foreign Policy Officer Dimitris Mancos claimed that the NAVTEX message published by Türkiye stating that consent was provided could increase tension in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Hristos Yannulis, a member of parliament from the opposition Radical Left Alliance Party (SYRIZA), said on OPEN TV, where he was a guest: "France's note to Türkiye is not an insignificant and routine procedure, it is a diplomatic action. The question arises whether the Greek government is aware of this." he said.

SYRIZA parliamentary group representative Theofilos Ksanthopoulos, in his speech in the parliament, drew attention to the word "consent" in NAVTEX published by Türkiye and addressed the government, saying, "That's why I'm worried. Because I see you very comfortable and confident, and the damage we suffered in the Türkiye-Libya memorandum of understanding comes to mind. You were confident in that too." he said.

Nikos Karathanasopoulos, parliamentary group spokesman of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), stated that what the government said did not match the data, so they could not trust the government.

In the statement made by the Foreign Policy Bureau of the Greek Left Alliance Party ELAS Party, it was claimed that the word "consent" used by Türkiye in NAVTEX was unacceptable for Athens.

Greek press

International Relations Expert Konstantinos Filis, in his article for Kathimerini newspaper, argued that the agreement reached between Greece and France was only about sending a note to Türkiye and said, "Otherwise, if France asked for permission, this would mean a violation of the agreement." he said.

Filis said, "After August 5, when Greece signed an agreement with Meridiam, it should have found a way to prevent Türkiye from creating an impression, taking into consideration Türkiye's methodology. For example, we could have asked the relevant company to provide the information, not the French state." he said.

Ta Nea newspaper, on the other hand, argued that the reason for the delay in the departure of the research ship was diplomatic contacts to prevent possible tension between Athens, Ankara and Paris.