A closely watched and high-level meeting in Nicosia earlier on Tuesday has reportedly failed to overcome disagreements over the proposed Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) project, an ambitious endeavor to connect the power grid of Israel with Cyprus and on to mainland Greece via an undersea cable spanning the breadth of the eastern Mediterranean.
The meeting, chaired by Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, included the participation of the relevant energy ministers of the island republic and Greece, as well as the heads of the regulatory power authorities in both countries.
Later press reports from Cyprus said objections, primarily by the Cypriot side over cost-sharing and the financial viability of the project, were not overcome in full.
In a carefully worded statement after the meeting, Greek Minister Thodoros Skylakakis said negotiations will continue at the “political level”, adding that the talks were “productive” and that “work is continuing”.
He declined to answer a press question on whether common ground had been found to ensure the project’s viability within a regulatory framework, and if he remained optimistic, merely noting that “what we said is enough for today.”
Skylakakis reportedly departed for Athens afterward.
Cypriot Energy Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou was equally laconic, saying that discussions will continue by all sides and that no ultimatums were tabled.
Sources in Nicosia after the meeting’s end confirmed that no deal was achieved, but that “insurmountable differences” didn’t arise.
Earlier, Cyprus President Christodoulides departed from the session to attend a previously scheduled appearance.
Also in attendance at the high-level meeting where the CEO and chairman of Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO), Manousos Manousakis, EU Commission officials and representatives of French multinational cable maker Nexans.
The Great Sea Interconnector, formerly known as the EuroAsia Interconnector, is a planned HVDC interconnector between the Greek, Cypriot, and Israeli power grids via the world’s longest submarine power cable.
