By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Cyprus negotiators return to the table before next week's leaders' meeting, while GSI preparations and renewed Aegean air activity reopen two files that had been relatively quiet.
Cyprus Negotiators Meet Ahead of August 26 Leaders' Talks
Turkish Cypriot Presidential Undersecretary Mehmet Dânâ and Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou were scheduled to meet Thursday at 11 a.m. to prepare for the August 26 meeting between Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman and Republic of Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides.
The meeting follows Dânâ's briefing for diplomats at the Home for Cooperation in the United Nations buffer zone on Wednesday. The Republic of Cyprus Foreign Ministry had contacted diplomatic missions beforehand and urged them not to attend, Cyprus Mail reported. Diplomatic sources told the newspaper afterward that the briefing was nevertheless well attended.
Crossing points remain unresolved. The sides differ over proposals involving Mia Milia, known as Haspolat in Turkish, Louroujina, known as Akıncılar in Turkish, and a route linking Athienou with Aglandjia.
There is also a timing problem at the United Nations. Cypriot reporting indicates that the UN is unlikely to finish its record of convergences from previous negotiations before Erhürman and Christodoulides meet on August 26. That document, the crossing-point dispute and confidence-building measures are expected to feed into preparations for another 5+1 meeting involving the two sides, Türkiye, Greece, the United Kingdom and the UN.
Mossad, Syria Discussed Türkiye Before Abu al-Duhur Strike
Mossad Director Roman Gofman and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani spoke by telephone on August 14 about Türkiye's military role in Syria, four days before Israeli aircraft struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the call.
Israel raised possible Turkish troop deployments, weapons sales and drone supplies to the Syrian military. The conversation establishes that Türkiye's military cooperation with Damascus was already being discussed directly between Israeli and Syrian officials before the August 18 attack.
Israel's Prime Minister's Office later publicly claimed responsibility for the strike, saying Syria had been close to breaching a security understanding by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo.
Damascus rejects that account. Shaibani confirmed that Turkish military officers had visited Abu al-Duhur for training and military cooperation, but said there was no plan for Türkiye to establish a base, maintain a permanent presence or deploy forces there. He said the facility was being rehabilitated for the Syrian Air Force.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Syria had been warned against hosting Turkish forces. Defense Minister Israel Katz followed on Thursday by accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of drawing Türkiye into "dangerous adventures" in Syria.
Washington is trying to establish a deconfliction mechanism involving Israel and Syria, with Türkiye potentially participating directly or indirectly. Four days now separate a high-level Israeli-Syrian conversation about Turkish military activity from an Israeli strike on the base at the center of that concern.
Greek Officials Report 25 Aegean Airspace Violations
Greek authorities said Turkish military aircraft and drones committed 25 violations of Greece's claimed national airspace over the Aegean on August 18.
Eight Turkish F-16 fighters were involved, two of them armed, while drones accounted for 17 of the reported incidents, according to Greek officials. An interception developed into what Athens described as a simulated dogfight between Turkish and Greek fighters.
Türkiye and Greece disagree over the limits of Greek national airspace in the Aegean. Bosphorus News therefore does not treat Athens' violation count as an uncontested description of the legal status of the airspace involved.
The August 18 count follows 17 reported violations on August 6, when Greek officials also reported an aerial engagement. Military aviation incidents are returning at the same time that Ankara and Athens are again disputing maritime planning and offshore infrastructure.
GSI Moves Toward New NAVTEX and Seabed Surveys
The Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) is approaching another attempt at seabed surveys after Republic of Cyprus Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister Michalis Damianos said a NAVTEX is expected within the next few weeks.
Damianos told CyBC that the decision followed direct contacts among the Greek, French and Republic of Cyprus leaderships. Survey work is expected to begin once the French vessel involved is ready.
The ownership structure changed earlier this month when French infrastructure investor Meridiam acquired a 66 percent majority stake in GSI. Greece's Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) retained the remaining stake and technical leadership, while an agreement involving IPTO, GSI and Nexans put the outstanding seabed surveys back into the implementation schedule.
Washington has also entered the project's political support base. Bosphorus News previously reported Damianos' account of US backing for GSI alongside Republic of Cyprus plans for offshore gas and deeper regional energy links. IPTO has since filed an investment request with the regulators in the Republic of Cyprus and Israel for the Cyprus-Israel section of the cable.
Survey work remains the difficult part. Previous bathymetric operations off Kasos were halted in 2024 after Turkish objections and naval activity in an area where Türkiye and Greece hold conflicting maritime jurisdiction positions. A new NAVTEX would put a survey vessel back into that same dispute.
Türkiye-Syria Energy Drive Expands Across Oil, Gas, Power and Mining
Türkiye is expanding its energy and mining work with Syria following Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar's visit to Damascus.
Türkiye Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and Turkish private companies are ready for seismic surveys and exploration drilling both onshore and offshore in Syria, Bayraktar said. The Birecik-Aleppo electricity line is due to enter service within weeks, taking transmission capacity from Türkiye to roughly 800 to 900 megawatts.
MTA International Mining Inc., an affiliate of Türkiye's General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration, also signed a memorandum with Syria's General Directorate for Geology and Mineral Resources covering phosphate resources.
Bayraktar said a later commercial project could include phosphate production, development of mining areas and construction of a railway connecting the production zone with a port. Work on iron deposits around Aleppo is also under discussion.
Bosphorus News detailed the new Türkiye-Syria energy and mining package after the Damascus talks.
Black Sea Attacks Push Wheat Prices Higher
Attacks on Black Sea ports, terminals and shipping are now affecting grain prices and delivery schedules during the peak export season.
Chicago wheat futures have risen more than 17 percent since early July. Asian buyers face possible delays to between 2 million and 2.5 million tonnes of wheat scheduled for delivery from July through September, according to Reuters.
Egypt sourced more than 82 percent of its wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine during the first half of 2026. Buyers can turn to suppliers including Australia, Argentina and North America, but replacement cargoes are more expensive.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has called for a moratorium on attacks against commercial vessels in the Black Sea. Russia rejected the idea last week, while attacks on ports and ships are now reaching importers through higher prices and delayed cargoes.
TEKNOFEST Mavi Vatan Opens With 37 Naval Platforms
TEKNOFEST Mavi Vatan opened at Gölcük Shipyard Command on Thursday with 37 Turkish Naval Forces assets and platforms on display.
The lineup includes TCG Anadolu, TCG İstanbul, TCG Derya, frigates, corvettes, mine warfare vessels, submarines and amphibious and rescue platforms. TCG Savarona and museum ship Yavuz are also part of the August 20-23 program.
ASELSAN is displaying DERİNGÖZ, its autonomous underwater vehicle developed for underwater reconnaissance, mine countermeasures, protection of critical underwater infrastructure, pipeline monitoring and port security.
ASELSAN's technical specifications give DERİNGÖZ a maximum operating depth of 600 meters and nominal endurance of eight hours, extendable to 24 hours with two additional batteries. Maximum speed is 5.5 knots.
The event also includes demonstrations by Türkiye's Underwater Offence and Underwater Defence commands, unmanned underwater systems and naval and air displays.
Greece-Israel Military Contacts Deepen as Patriot Shift Is Studied
Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff General Dimitrios Houpis held talks in Israel with his counterpart Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir and Israeli Defense Ministry officials this week.
The visit came as Greece's Defense Ministry examines whether the Patriot air-defense battery deployed on Karpathos should be transferred to Souda Bay on Crete if military planners judge that the base requires additional protection.
No decision has been taken.
The review follows reports that Iran could consider US military facilities in Europe as possible targets if American operations intensify. Greek officials currently assess a direct Iranian attack on Greece as unlikely, but Souda hosts major Greek and US military facilities and remains under heightened security.
Türkiye previously objected to the Patriot deployment on Karpathos. The battery remains on the southeastern Aegean island while Athens reviews the Souda option.
Ankara Rejects Legal Effect of Greece's Renewable Energy Plan
Türkiye says Greece's new Special Spatial Framework for Renewable Energy Sources will have no legal effect on Ankara's position in the Aegean.
The framework entered into force on August 19 and establishes siting rules for renewable-energy projects and energy-storage facilities.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said the Greek measure would not alter Türkiye's position on the interconnected Aegean disputes, including geographical formations whose sovereignty Ankara says was not transferred to Greece through international treaties.
Keçeli also called for coastal states to avoid unilateral measures in closed and semi-enclosed seas and said Türkiye remained ready to cooperate with Greece under the December 7, 2023 Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighbourliness.
It is the second Greek spatial-planning measure to draw a formal Turkish objection this month. Ankara issued a similar response after Greece adopted a new tourism spatial framework on August 7.
Four days separate the Mossad-Shaibani call from the Abu al-Duhur strike. Israel was already asking Damascus about Turkish troops, weapons and drones before the runway was hit. Syria confirms Turkish officers visited the base but rejects the claim that Türkiye was preparing to deploy forces there. The argument is now over the purpose and limits of Turkish military cooperation with Syria.
In the Aegean, Greek-reported air incidents have returned while Ankara and Athens are again disputing spatial planning. GSI is the more immediate maritime test because a new NAVTEX would send a survey vessel back toward waters where work stopped in 2024.
The Black Sea is producing a different cost. Port and shipping attacks are delaying grain cargoes and pushing wheat prices higher. Türkiye's attempt to keep commercial vessels outside the Russia-Ukraine war is no longer only a maritime-security file; the disruption is reaching major importers through price and supply.
Sources: Reuters, Cyprus Mail, Fileleftheros, Haber Kıbrıs, Turkish Cypriot Presidency, Republic of Cyprus Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, eKathimerini, Hellenic Ministry of National Defence, Türkiye's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Türkiye's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, TRT Haber, ASELSAN, Bosphorus News review and reporting.
Read Yesterday's brief: Eastern Mediterranean Strategic Brief | August 19, 2026.