The diplomatic and energy standoff between Cyprus and Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) over the €1.9 billion Great Sea Interconnector has now reached Athens, prompting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to convene an emergency meeting at the Maximos Mansion at 17:00 on Sunday.

>>Great Sea Interconnector: Cyprus, ADMIE Feud Escalates — What to Know<<

The meeting, involving ADMIE’s leadership and the Ministry of Environment and Energy, follows Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides’ scathing morning remarks accusing ADMIE of “blackmailing” Nicosia over the interconnector’s payment schedule. His statements, delivered just days after his meeting with Mitsotakis in New York, have sparked concern in Athens that the public spat could derail cooperation on what was meant to be a landmark energy project linking Greece, Cyprus, and Israel.

Government sources in Athens say the Prime Minister decided on the emergency session immediately after returning from Amorgos, where he was accompanied by Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou. The goal is to assess the fallout from Christodoulides’ statements and clarify ADMIE’s position amid escalating diplomatic sensitivity.

The Cypriot President’s warning — “The Cypriot Government cannot be blackmailed, and the ADMIE chief doesn’t know who he’s dealing with” — was the culmination of weeks of rising tension over stalled payments and diverging interpretations of the 2024 intergovernmental framework governing the project’s financing.