The US Department of State’s Harry S. Truman Building in Washington DC. Photo: Linda D. Epstein, U.S. Department of State, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

US Calls Turkey-Libya Maritime Deal “Unhelpful and Provocative” as Greece Defends Crete

by · Greek City Times

Washington has described the ratification of the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum as “unhelpful and provocative”, adding its voice to the criticism of a deal that Greece says ignores the maritime rights of Crete and other Greek islands.

“The announcement of the ratification of the Turkish-Libyan delimitation memorandum of understanding has raised tensions in the region and is unhelpful and provocative — and our position on this matter has not changed,” a US State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The spokesperson urged all countries in the Eastern Mediterranean to settle maritime disputes through good-faith negotiations, noted that Greece and Türkiye are both NATO allies and encouraged the two to work through their differences bilaterally.

“Peaceful resolution of such disputes opens the way for commercial investment and exploration that will benefit the entire region,” the spokesperson said.

Read more: Greece and Egypt Move To Expand Maritime Economic Zones

The firmer wording replaced an earlier State Department response that did not pass judgement on the memorandum. As Greek City Times has reported, the statement was revised after work by the US Embassy in Athens and the Greek Embassy in Washington.

What Libya approved

On 20 October, Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives, which is aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar, voted unanimously to approve the memorandum Türkiye signed in Istanbul in November 2019 with Libya’s then Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, the Libyan News Agency reported. The vote overturned the parliament’s 2020 rejection of the deal and its decision to cut political ties with Ankara.

The memorandum claims a shared maritime boundary between Türkiye and Libya south-east of Crete. Greece, Egypt and Cyprus have rejected it since it was signed.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Anadolu in Brussels on 21 October that it was “an entirely legitimate agreement, both from a legal and a political perspective”, adding: “There is no need to debate it.” He said Ankara had regarded the agreement as valid since 2019.

Athens: “The memorandum will not be implemented”

Greece’s Foreign Ministry said the memorandum “remains illegal, null and void”, pointing out that Türkiye and Libya “do not have opposite or adjacent coasts” and that the deal “disregards the Greek islands and their entitlement to maritime zones under UNCLOS”.

Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis was blunter in a radio interview with Mega News 104.6 the following day: “The memorandum will not be implemented. And it will not be implemented for the simple reason that it produces no legal effects whatsoever, as it is entirely contrary to international law.” He noted that Greece had already launched tenders for offshore blocks south of Crete, inside the area the memorandum covers.

Athens has since taken the fight to the United Nations. On 26 October, Greece delivered a statement in New York on behalf of Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union and itself, declaring the memorandum “null and void”.

On 29 October the dispute reached the Security Council. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, chairing a debate under Greece’s presidency, accused the two countries of drawing an artificial boundary that ignores Crete, Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos. Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Yıldız replied that “this Council is not a court for delimiting maritime zones”, while Greek Ambassador Aglaia Balta answered: “Geography cannot be reshaped. This is not a slogan,” euro2day.gr reported.

Europe, Israel and US energy interests

European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on 20 October that the agreement “infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states, it does not comply with the Law of the Sea, and is null and void”, and reaffirmed solidarity with Greece and Cyprus.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the ratification. “Regretfully, once again we see Turkey working to destabilise the east Mediterranean region,” it said, Reuters reported.

Endy Zemenides, executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, told Fox News Digital the memorandum “effectively denies maritime rights and zones of Crete” and “specifically infringes on U.S. companies and U.S. energy policy”. He described Crete as “NATO’s southernmost base”.

US energy giant Chevron holds exploration blocks south of Crete and is expected to begin seismic surveys there in December, Proto Thema reported.

READ MORE: US Rewords Turkish-Libyan Deal As “Unhelpful and Provocative”

READ MORE: Greece and Turkey Clash at UN Security Council

Featured image: The US Department of State’s Harry S. Truman Building in Washington DC. Photo: Linda D. Epstein, U.S. Department of State, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Stay connected to Greek City Times for Free on Google News
Click NOW
Stay updated with the latest news from Greece and around the world on greekcitytimes.com.
Contact our newsroom to share your updates, stories, photos, or videos. Follow GCT on WhatsApp, Google News and Apple News.

Related coverage

Advertising