Greece has brought the disputed 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime agreement before the United Nations Security Council following a move by Eastern Libya’s parliament to ratify the deal, escalating Athens’ diplomatic efforts to challenge the memorandum internationally.
Greece’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Aglaia Balta, raised the issue with Security Council members during closed-door consultations on instructions from Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis.
Balta spoke in her national capacity because Greece holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month. She warned of risks that the Eastern Libyan parliament’s decision could pose to security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Greece considers the Turkey-Libya memorandum illegal and has consistently challenged the agreement, which concerns maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean.
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Until now, the positions of the parties involved had been communicated to the United Nations through formal letters and maps. Cyprus, Egypt and Italy have also responded to the issue through correspondence with the U.N., while France, a permanent member of the Security Council, has considered the memorandum invalid since 2020.
‘Geography does not change’
According to information on the closed-door discussions, Balta told Security Council members that “geography does not change” and argued that international law governing the seas cannot be rewritten through unilateral decisions.
Athens also stressed that it has approached the Libyan authorities in good faith and engaged in talks on the delimitation of maritime zones.
Balta reiterated Greece’s longstanding call for an end to foreign interference in Libya, a position Athens has also advanced during its two-year term on the Security Council. Libya, she said, should not become an arena for competing geopolitical interests.
Greece reaffirmed its support for the unification of Libya’s institutions and efforts to advance the country’s political process.
Balta stressed, however, that those objectives cannot be pursued at the expense of the sovereignty and sovereign rights of third countries, nor should stability within Libya be achieved by creating instability beyond its borders.
Athens pushes dispute onto international agenda
The move at the Security Council forms part of Athens’ strategy to internationalize the dispute and argue that the law of the sea should serve as the sole framework for resolving disagreements over maritime boundaries.
The European Union has also rejected the memorandum, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas describing it as invalid and without legal effect. Israel and Egypt have also rejected the agreement.
Athens is expected to return to the issue at the United Nations before the end of the month. A discussion on maritime security is scheduled to take place in New York in late October, where the Greek delegation is expected to raise the matter again through Foreign Minister Gerapetritis.