Greek & Egyptian foreign ministers question legitimacy of Turkey-Libya memorandum

Greek Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias spoke with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry on Monday, and they both questioned the legitimacy of the memorandum of understanding between Turkey and Libya’s government of national unity, Greek diplomatic sources pointed out.

It was also agreed that Dendias would visit Cairo for consultations on Sunday.

Greek foreign affairs ministry statement

Greece is following developments in Libya very closely, “especially Monday’s signing of a ‘memorandum of cooperation’ between the Government of National Unity (GNU) of Libya and Turkey in the field of hydrocarbons,” the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry noted in a statement released on Monday evening.

Greece, the ministry added, “holds sovereign rights in the area, which it intends to defend by all legal means, in full respect to the International Law of the Sea.” It was added that Greece has demarcated its EEZ with Egypt, an agreement signed in full respect to the International Law of the Sea.

As set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Greece maintains an ipso facto et ad initio right to a continental shelf, which, in the absence of a bilateral agreement, is defined by the median line, it was pointed out.

The “Turkish-Libyan ‘memorandum’ of 2019 is illegal, invalid and non-existent, therefore no entity has any right to invoke it,” it was stressed.

“Any action or reference in implementation of said ‘memorandum’ will be de facto illegal, and -depending on its gravity- will carry a reaction both at the bilateral level and at the level of the European Union and NATO,” stated the ministry.

In this context, it was noted that “Greece will continue to inform its partners and allies about Turkey’s destabilizing role.”

Finally, the ministry expressed “satisfaction for the statements of the president and of the Energy & Natural Resources Committee of the Libyan House of Representatives regarding the invalidity and lack of legality of the memorandum signed today in Tripoli.”