Greece has secured the backing of Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in its dispute with Turkey over a maritime agreement with Libya, as the four countries warn that the deal threatens regional stability and international law.
The four countries issued a joint statement at the United Nations in New York on Monday, days after Libya’s eastern parliament approved the maritime boundaries agreement originally signed by Turkey and Libya’s Tripoli-based government in 2019, according to Reuters. The memorandum was signed in Istanbul by Turkey and Libya’s then internationally recognised Government of National Accord, based in Tripoli.
Greek foreign minister George Gerapetritis delivered a joint statement at the United Nations on behalf of Greece, Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE, Cyprus and the European Union, declaring the 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum “null and void”. “The recent decision of the Libyan House of Representatives to approve the 2019 so-called ‘Turkish-Libyan Memorandum of Understanding on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea’ raises serious concerns for regional security and stability,” Gerapetritis said. The joint statement warned that accepting bilateral arrangements that disregard international law “would set a dangerous precedent”, adding that the agreement disregards the maritime rights of coastal states, including the rights of islands under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The signatories said the Libyan parliament’s approval did not change their position on the agreement’s legal status and called for maritime disputes to be resolved through dialogue and international law.
Turkey has defended the agreement as consistent with international law and the mutual interests of Ankara and Tripoli. Its foreign ministry also welcomed the eastern Libyan parliament’s approval, saying Turkey would continue working with regional partners to promote security, stability and peace in the Mediterranean. It established a maritime boundary between the two countries’ claimed continental shelves and exclusive economic zones (EEZs), areas that carry rights over natural resources and certain economic activities.