Journalists were prohibited from asking any questions following the two-hour meeting between President Ersin Tatar and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz on “energy and supply security” at the Presidency, Yeniduzen reported. At the end of the meeting, an official from the Presidency told reporters, “We’re not taking questions”, and clarified that no questions would be allowed.
Statements by Tatar and Yılmaz were made however, as was reported yesterday.
This restriction on questions drew attention, particularly given that the meeting addressed the “interconnected system” for transferring electricity from Turkey via cable to North Cyprus. Yeniduzen had previously emphasised that Turkey would need approval from ENTSO-E*, the European Network of Electricity Transmission System Operators, to establish such a system. According to information obtained by the newspaper, ENTSO-E had already informed Turkey last February that it would not grant permission to create an interconnected electricity system for northern Cyprus.
Yeniduzen and Kanal SIM left the press conference after being told that no questions would be allowed. The newspaper had planned to ask Vice President Yılmaz about ENTSO-E’s stance during the event.
*The European Network of Electricity Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E) has not permitted the establishment of an interconnected electricity system between Turkey and North Cyprus. Turkey, an observer member of ENTSO-E, has proposed a submarine interconnection project to link the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) with Turkey’s grid. However, ENTSO-E does not support connecting the north of Cyprus to its network, possibly due to the political complexities surrounding the island’s division and the fact that the TRNC is not internationally recognised.
This situation contrasts with ENTSO-E’s backing of other regional projects, like the EuroAsia Interconnector, which involves Cyprus, Israel, and Greece. These projects aim to integrate the Republic of Cyprus into Europe’s energy network while further isolating the TRNC from such initiatives. Turkey is still pushing ahead with its own undersea cable project, but it may face technical limitations, allowing only one-way electricity transmission without a full interconnected system. [Ed.]