Athens has intensified its discussions with Libya with the aim of reaching an agreement on the delimitation of maritime boundaries and the demarcation of exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean, in a move seen as a response to the 2019 maritime agreement between the former Government of National Accord and Ankara.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday, “We have agreed to move forward with discussions within technical committees regarding the delimitation of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone,” according to the Euroactive website.

The Dispute Over Maritime Boundary Delimitation

Greece has previously stated that the agreement between Turkey and the Government of National Accord ignored Greek islands such as Crete, and both the European Union and Egypt have joined in objecting to it, all of whom consider it null and void and in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Although the Libyan House of Representatives has not yet ratified the agreement, Ankara insists it is in force and views the current Greek initiative as an attempt to undermine it.

In Athens, the agreement was interpreted as a Turkish effort to challenge the principle that Greek islands are entitled to their exclusive economic zones.

The Turkish Position

According to Euroactive, Turkey, which has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, argues that maritime boundaries in the Aegean Sea should be drawn along a median line between the mainland coasts.

For his part, the Greek official emphasized that any agreement with Libya would be fully in line with international law, “as has been the case with other countries in the region,” citing existing maritime agreements between Greece, Italy, and Egypt.