Cyprus backs multi-billion electric cable link from Europe to Mideast

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Cyprus will support a multi-billion euro electric transmission cable linking the power grids of Europe to the Middle East, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday.

The so-called Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) seeks to link the transmission networks of Greece via Crete, Cyprus and eventually Israel in a project costing 2.4 billion euros ($2.7 billion). As far as Cyprus, the cable is estimated at 1.9 billion euros.

The government decided to support the project at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. The level of Cyprus's participation was unclear with the source saying that would be decided later.

George Papanastasiou, Cyprus's Energy Minister, was due to make statements later Tuesday, an announcement from Cyprus's presidency said.

On completion, it will be the longest, at 1,240 km, and deepest, at 3,000 metres, high voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector in the world. The European Union has said it is willing to finance part of it, which, at present, is slated to be complete by around 2030.

The ambitious project touches upon a complex patchwork of overlapping jurisdiction claims between Greece, Cyprus and regional rival Turkey in the Mediterranean.

Cyprus had sought clarity over what it would pay towards the project, and what would happen if 'geopolitical risks' - the potential opposition of Turkey - arose, leading to delays and possible additional costs.

"We are talking about international waters, so in this respect countries are allowed to lay pipes and cables and so forth," said Harry Tzimitras, an academic and Director of the PRIO Cyprus Centre and who has researched extensively on the subject.

"But there are certain areas that Turkey is claiming as its own continental shelf and that being the case, Turkey's argument is that prior consent is required," he said.

Although that claim - of prior consent - would be 'hard to sustain in the international legal order', Turkey wasn't pursuing that route, Tzimitras said.

"To my mind, the countries concerned are often less focused on legal processes; it all seems to be boiling down to political measures and to military power posturing," Tzimitras said.

Turkey had sent naval assets in June to shadow a ship carrying out cable-related survey work close to a Greek island, and has on occasion obstructed ships tasked with gas surveys offshore Cyprus.

(Reporting by Michele Kambas; Editing by Sonali Paul/Keith Weir)