Greece and Libya to discuss demarcation of sea borders Recep Tayyip Erdogan Ankara Libya Turkey Tripoli

Greece and Libya will discuss defining maritime borders in the Mediterranean, the Greek prime minister’s office said after a meeting between the prime minister and the head of Libya’s Presidential Council on Wednesday.

The talks in Athens with Mohamed al-Menfi, a former ambassador to Greece, came a week after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis traveled to Tripoli to meet with Libya’s new interim government.

The interim government took office last month, replacing two rival administrations that ruled the eastern and western parts of a war-torn country. To lead Libya to the general elections in December.

Athens expelled the Libyan ambassador in December 2019, during a controversial agreement between Turkey and the then UN-backed government on maritime borders in the Mediterranean.

Greece and Cyprus were outraged by the agreement, saying it violated international law and did not see their share in the region. Greece has since demanded that the new interim government rescind the agreement.

Addressing al-Manfi at the beginning of his meeting, Mitsotakis welcomed the intention of you and the Libyan prime ministers to discuss important issues such as the demarcation of your country’s maritime border with Greece.

The new North African government has not said it wants to cancel its controversial agreement with Turkey.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah visited Ankara on Monday. Speaking after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he said the agreement served the national interests of both Turkey and Libya. However, he added that it is important to start a dialogue that will take into account the interests of all parties.

Erdogan, in turn, said that the agreement provides the interests and future of both countries.

Turkey is closely involved in Libya against the Libyan National Army (LNA) in eastern Benghazi and the UN-recognized National Accord Government (GNA) in Tripoli, which controls the west. Turkey has helped Libya change its balance of power by sending military equipment and fighters to the Tripoli government, which has signed a naval agreement.