By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Türkiye and Greece have reopened an Aegean NOTAM dispute as Damascus moves to give Türkiye's remaining military presence a formal legal basis. A new FATF evaluation landed as Türkiye's fund investigation widened, while Cyprus diplomacy and Eastern Mediterranean energy security moved in New York and Cairo.
Aegean | Türkiye and Greece trade NOTAMs over new activity window
Türkiye has issued a new aviation notice covering activity from Sept. 25 to Oct. 27 across the Aegean, prompting a counter-NOTAM from Greece.
Greek reporting says the Turkish notice covers five broad areas and six routes extending from the northern Aegean toward the Dodecanese, including areas around Limnos, Lesvos, Chios, Ikaria and west of Kalymnos and Leros. Athens rejected the availability of the areas for the activities described by Ankara.
The Turkish wording includes an "environmental protection and SAR support mission." Türkiye has used the same formula in previous Aegean NOTAMs for operations in international waters and airspace. The environmental language carries additional weight while Ankara and Athens remain divided over Greek plans for marine parks in the Aegean, although Türkiye has not publicly linked this notice to the parks.
The new window opens one day after the scheduled Distinguished Observer Day of Denizkurdu-I/2026 aboard TCG Anadolu in the Eastern Mediterranean. Preparations for renewed Great Sea Interconnector survey work are also under way. No official source has linked the three tracks. Türkiye's Defense Ministry scheduled Denizkurdu-I activity across the Black Sea, Marmara, Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean this week.
Syria | Sharaa seeks parliamentary authorization for Turkish military presence
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa says Damascus is working to place Türkiye's remaining military presence in Syria under a formal legal framework approved by the People's Assembly.
Speaking at the Atlantic Council in New York on Sept. 22, Sharaa said Turkish bases in northwestern Syria had been reduced and that any foreign military presence should have parliamentary endorsement and legal status. He added that he expected Syria to reach a point "very soon" where foreign military forces would no longer be necessary.
His comments give a new legal dimension to Türkiye's military footprint. Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said in June 2025 that more than 20,000 Turkish troops were deployed in Syria and that Ankara had no immediate plan to withdraw or relocate them. At the time, Güler tied any reassessment to stability in Syria, removal of the terrorism threat, border security and refugee returns.
Sharaa contrasted Türkiye's presence with Russia's. He said Russia's military footprint had fallen from around 170 bases to two facilities that were being converted into training centers for the Syrian army. He also said negotiations with Israel had come close to agreement before breaking down, putting the figure at about 90%. His preferred sequence begins with an Israeli withdrawal to positions held before Dec. 8, 2024, followed by security arrangements and only then talks on lasting peace.
Türkiye Markets | FATF report lands as fund investigation widens
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published Türkiye's new mutual evaluation on Sept. 23, setting out a three-year roadmap for improvements.
The process is separate from FATF's "increased monitoring" category commonly known as the grey list. Türkiye was removed from increased monitoring in June 2024. MASAK said the new evaluation did not identify strategic deficiencies that would return Türkiye to that category.
Türkiye's Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) said 38 of FATF's 40 technical recommendations were rated compliant or largely compliant. The assessment also rated three of 11 effectiveness outcomes substantially effective and eight moderately effective.
The evaluation nevertheless identified enforcement gaps. Reporting on the document points to more than 7,000 money-laundering cases awaiting prosecution, weaknesses involving professional money laundering and corporate structures, and inconsistent use of international cooperation to pursue assets moved abroad.
The publication coincides with the widening fund crisis. The Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (CMB) said Wednesday that 455,758 unique investors hold positions in the 131 funds ordered into liquidation.
Separate MASAK material cited by Turkish media identified large transfers involving accounts in Switzerland before the Sept. 15-16 redemption failures. FATF does not refer to the Pusula or Tera investigation in the material reviewed by Bosphorus News. The overlap is structural: the new evaluation focuses directly on Türkiye's ability to pursue illicit assets once money crosses borders.
Cyprus | Separate UN meetings continue as Erhürman reaches New York
UN envoy María Ángela Holguín met Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides in New York on Sept. 22. Both described the hour-long meeting as constructive, while Holguín said her effort to secure progress on the Cyprus issue was continuing.
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman left for New York on Wednesday. He is expected to meet Holguín on Sept. 24 and UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sept. 26. No trilateral meeting or new 5+1 gathering has been announced.
Erhürman said before departing that another 5+1 should follow concrete progress on confidence-building measures, negotiating methodology and substantive issues rather than convening simply to restart talks. The separate New York meetings extend the procedural dispute tracked in Bosphorus News' review of Guterres' seven-point agenda.
Eastern Mediterranean | Cairo trio puts gas fields into defense agenda
Greece, Egypt and the Republic of Cyprus have moved protection of Eastern Mediterranean energy infrastructure directly into their trilateral defense mechanism.
Their defense ministers signed a joint statement after meeting in Cairo on Sept. 22 calling for stronger joint protection frameworks for supply lines, gas fields and offshore energy infrastructure. They also agreed to intensify information sharing and develop collective capacity for a rapid and unified response to future threats. Exercise Medusa was identified as one of the mechanisms supporting operational coordination.
The energy file moved in parallel in New York. Christodoulides met Chevron executive Javier La Rosa and called for the Aphrodite gas field to move from planning to implementation. The Republic of Cyprus presidency said technical and commercial work is proceeding under the approved development and production plan, with the next steps focused on reaching a Final Investment Decision and using existing Egyptian infrastructure to commercialize the gas.
Hormuz | US-Iran contacts resume as shipping remains severely reduced
The United States and Iran held their first shuttle contacts in months on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoys communicating through mediators.
Neither side announced a concession. Iran demanded an end to US military action, while President Donald Trump said there was momentum toward an agreement after warning in his General Assembly address that Washington could destroy Iran if diplomacy failed.
Shipping conditions remain far from normal. Kpler data showed only two commodity vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, compared with about 125 large commercial vessels a day before the Iran conflict began in February. The figures exclude ships operating with Automatic Identification System transponders switched off.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joined Trump and Gulf Cooperation Council leaders for an Iran-focused meeting in New York on Wednesday. Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia also used a separate four-country statement to condemn recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, reaffirm Riyadh's right to self-defense and call for protection of maritime navigation.
Black Sea | Erdoğan raises merchant shipping attacks with Guterres
Erdoğan told Guterres that Türkiye is disturbed by attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea and expects the parties to act responsibly on navigation security.
The message keeps civilian shipping on Ankara's UN agenda after Türkiye circulated a written proposal aimed at reducing attacks on commercial vessels. Erdoğan also told Guterres that Ankara remains committed to diplomacy on Ukraine and favors a regionally generated process for the Strait of Hormuz.
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Three existing security files moved into institutional territory on Sept. 23. Damascus is seeking parliamentary authorization for Türkiye's military footprint, FATF has attached a reform roadmap to Türkiye's financial-crime system, and Ankara and Athens are again contesting Aegean operating space through NOTAMs.
Cyprus remains on separate diplomatic tracks in New York. In Cairo, Greece, Egypt and the Republic of Cyprus have now written gas fields, supply routes and offshore infrastructure directly into their defense cooperation, while Chevron and the Republic of Cyprus work toward an investment decision on Aphrodite.
Hormuz produced the opposite combination: diplomacy resumed while shipping remained severely constrained. Türkiye is present in the regional talks and is simultaneously keeping Black Sea merchant-shipping security before the UN.
Sources: Atlantic Council, Financial Action Task Force, Türkiye's Financial Crimes Investigation Board, Capital Markets Board of Türkiye, Türkiye's Ministry of National Defence, Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications, Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus, Presidency of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Hellenic Ministry of National Defence, Reuters, Anadolu Agency, AML Intelligence, Greek media, Bosphorus News review and reporting.