Greek FM visits Libya amid tension over maritime issues
TRIPOLI
Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis on July 15 visited Libya to deliver a message of “peace, friendship and good neighborly relations,” with Athen’s ongoing opposition about the 2019 Türkiye-Libya maritime deal on the agenda.
“On behalf of the Greek government and the Greek people, I bring a message of peace and cooperation. Libya is a natural neighbor for Greece, a partner in civilization and history,” Gerapetritis said during his official visit to Tripoli, where he met with the prime minister of the Libya’s international recognized goverment, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh,
“There are no problems that cannot be solved through discussion,” the Greek top diplomat told Dbeibeh.
This visit followed Libya’s recent letter to the United Nations reaffirming the terms of the disputed 2019 Türkiye-Libya maritime borders agreement. The letter also accused Greece of violating Libya’s rights by leasing two offshore blocks to ExxonMobil southwest of Crete, within the area covered by the 2019 deal.
In 2022, Türkiye and Libya expanded the 2019 maritime agreement with a memorandum giving Ankara exploration rights both offshore and on Libyan land. Recently, Libya’s eastern administration announced plans to create a technical committee to review the 2019 maritime deal.
This is the first time Libya has officially claimed these zones, based on the 2019 agreement with Türkiye.
While Greece has labeled the agreement with Türkiye as illegal, Athens continues to engage with Libya on the issue.
After reports that Libya’s eastern government was moving toward ratifying the 2019 maritime memorandum with Türkiye, Gerapetritis also met with Khalifa Haftar, the eastern Libya leader, in Benghazi on July 6.
The visit also came shortly after Greece’s parliament approved a three-month suspension of asylum claims from migrants arriving from Libya.
