By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Cyprus returns to UN diplomacy in New York as the Makkah Defence Alliance installs its first permanent leadership. Türkiye's Black Sea and Iraq files also move forward with new proposals and agreements.
Cyprus
Erhürman and Christodoulides Hold Separate UN Meetings in New York
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman is scheduled to meet United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres' Personal Envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, in New York on Thursday before meeting Guterres on September 26.
Republic of Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides is also scheduled to meet Guterres on Thursday. No trilateral or 5+1 meeting has been announced.
Erhürman says another 5+1 should come only after progress on confidence-building measures, methodology and substantive issues.
Christodoulides used his UN General Assembly address on Wednesday to reject Türkiye's two-state position and reiterate support for a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality. Erdoğan had earlier called on the international community to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and establish political, diplomatic and economic relations with it.
UNFICYP Deploys to Deneia After Buffer-Zone Incident
United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) personnel were sent to the Deneia area of the UN buffer zone on Wednesday after reports of an incident involving Greek Cypriot farmers. The force said its personnel were deployed to de-escalate tensions and restore calm and that it continues to monitor the area to preserve the status quo.
Regional Security
Makkah Defence Alliance Names First Secretary General
Retired Pakistani Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood has been appointed the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance linking Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Mahmood will head the General Secretariat being established in Riyadh. The appointment gives the August 7 pact its first permanent secretariat leadership.
Türkiye and Iraq Agree Sinjar Plan and Bashiqa-Zilkan Handover
Türkiye and Iraq agreed to work toward the full restoration of Iraqi state authority in Sinjar and the removal of what their joint statement described as illegal foreign armed elements.
The agreement also provides for Turkish forces to gradually hand the Bashiqa-Zilkan base to Iraq's federal government under an agreed mechanism and timetable as Baghdad's security measures advance. The two sides also agreed to accelerate the Development Road Project and expand trade and investment.
European Union Prepares Lebanon Military Advisory Mission
The European Commission approved a €505 million package for Lebanon covering economic recovery, reforms, basic services, security and border management.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said a new EU mission is also being prepared to advise and train the Lebanese Armed Forces. The funding is the second €505 million tranche of the €1 billion support programme announced for Lebanon.
Black Sea
EU Seeks Black Sea Attack Moratorium as Türkiye Pushes Shipping Plan
Türkiye's proposal to protect civilian shipping in the Black Sea now has a parallel European track. The European Union has separately called for a new grain arrangement built around a moratorium on attacks.
Kallas used a UN event on Wednesday to call for an agreement that would halt attacks affecting maritime food exports.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also discussed Black Sea security in New York. The Ukrainian Presidency said the talks covered the full restoration of the maritime export corridor, a possible drone agreement and bilateral trade. Kyiv said several options for restoring the corridor are under discussion.
No coordination between the EU initiative and Ankara's proposal has been announced.
Military Posture
Denizkurdu-I Reaches Observer Day Aboard TCG Anadolu
Türkiye's Denizkurdu-I/2026 naval exercise reaches its planned Distinguished Observer Day on Thursday aboard TCG Anadolu in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The September 20-25 exercise spans the Black Sea, Marmara Sea, Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean and involves about 100 ships, 50 air assets and 14,000 personnel. Earlier phases included Bayraktar TB3 operations from TCG Anadolu in which the unmanned aircraft deployed sonobuoys and processed underwater acoustic data during an anti-submarine warfare scenario.
Greece, Egypt and Republic of Cyprus Expand Offshore Protection Plans
The defense ministers of Greece, Egypt and the Republic of Cyprus agreed to strengthen joint protection frameworks for supply lines, natural gas fields and offshore energy infrastructure in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Their joint statement also called for closer military coordination and greater capacity for a rapid, unified response to future threats.
Energy & Infrastructure
Türkiye Starts Offshore Work on TRNC Gas Link
Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said offshore work has begun on the planned natural gas connection between Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The roughly 101-kilometre Anamur-Teknecik project was formally launched in July. Bayraktar said the infrastructure is being designed to allow future Eastern Mediterranean gas to move toward Türkiye.
Cyprus Presses Chevron to Advance Aphrodite Project
Christodoulides told Chevron executive Javier La Rosa that development of the Aphrodite gas field should move more quickly from planning to implementation.
The Republic of Cyprus Presidency said progress had been made over the past year but further technical and commercial work remains. No final investment decision has been announced.
Christodoulides also discussed the next steps for the Glaucus and Pegasus discoveries with ExxonMobil, adding a second offshore development track to his New York energy meetings.
Mitsotakis Targets First Greek Gas Drilling in Q1 2027
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece expects its first exploratory gas drilling in more than 40 years in early 2027.
The Greek government has placed drilling in the Ionian Sea in the first quarter of 2027 as international energy companies expand exploration activity in Greek waters.
Diplomacy
Erdoğan Joins Iran Talks, Pushes $100 Billion US Trade Target
Erdoğan joined President Donald Trump of the United States, Gulf Cooperation Council leaders and representatives from Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon for talks focused on Iran.
He also met Turkish-American business representatives in New York and reiterated the target of raising bilateral trade to $100 billion. Energy, civil aviation, advanced technology and defense were among the sectors highlighted for deeper cooperation.
Erdoğan and Pashinyan Discuss Ani Bridge and TRIPP
Erdoğan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan discussed implementation of Türkiye-Armenia normalization agreements, expansion of trade and business links and joint restoration of the historic Ani Bridge during their New York meeting.
The Armenian government said the talks also covered implementation of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) and the opening of regional transport links.
Economy
Turkish Airlines Finalizes Order for Up to 150 Boeing 737 MAX Jets
Turkish Airlines finalized an order for 100 Boeing 737-8 aircraft and secured options for 50 additional 737 MAX jets.
Boeing said the agreement is Turkish Airlines' largest Boeing single-aisle order and allows the airline to substitute some aircraft with the larger 737-10.
Fund Investigation Adds 14 Arrests
Fourteen more suspects were jailed late Wednesday in the investigation into capital-market transactions linked to investment funds. Three others were released under judicial supervision while proceedings involving three additional suspects continued.
The Capital Markets Board (SPK) separately said the 131 funds ordered into liquidation on September 17 contain 455,758 unique investors.
Türkiye
Mansur Yavaş Leaves CHP and Continues as Independent
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş resigned from the Republican People's Party (CHP) on Wednesday and said he would continue as an independent.
Eight CHP district mayors in Ankara subsequently announced their resignations. Yavaş later said his decision was unrelated to speculation about a future presidential candidacy.
Bosphorus Reading
Three files that spent much of September at the proposal stage are acquiring institutions, mechanisms or negotiating tracks. The Makkah Defence Alliance now has a permanent secretariat, Türkiye and Iraq have attached a handover mechanism to Bashiqa-Zilkan, and Ankara's Black Sea shipping proposal is now accompanied by a separate EU push for a moratorium on attacks affecting maritime trade.
The Eastern Mediterranean has a different concentration of activity. Türkiye has begun offshore work on the TRNC gas connection as the Republic of Cyprus presses Chevron and ExxonMobil on Aphrodite, Glaucus and Pegasus, Greece prepares for exploratory drilling in early 2027, and Athens, Cairo and the Republic of Cyprus are putting protection of offshore energy infrastructure into their defense cooperation.
Infrastructure is also becoming part of the Türkiye-Greece operational file. Athens and Paris have agreed on the wording of the notification that would precede renewed Great Sea Interconnector seabed surveys, but have yet to settle who would make the diplomatic contact with Türkiye. That leaves gas development, undersea electricity infrastructure and its military protection moving through separate channels in the same maritime space.
Sources: United Nations, Turkish Cypriot Presidency, Republic of Cyprus Presidency, Türkiye's Directorate of Communications, Türkiye's Ministry of National Defense, Türkiye's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Ukrainian Presidency, European External Action Service, European Commission, Greek Prime Minister's Office, Greek Ministry of National Defence, Armenian Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan Foreign Ministry, Capital Markets Board, Boeing, Anadolu Agency, Cyprus News Agency, Bosphorus News review and reporting.
Read Yesterday's brief: Eastern Mediterranean Strategic Brief | September 23, 2026.