Libyan National Army chief Haftar meeting with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The defence committee of the elected Libyan parliament announced its support for the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) agreement signed between Greece and Italy on Tuesday, rejecting the illegal Turkish-Libyan Muslim Brotherhood memorandum to steal Greek maritime space.
Welcoming the Greek-Italian agreement, the Libyan Parliament adjacent to Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar's Libyan National Army that is in opposition to the Turkish-backed Muslim Brotherhood Government of National Accord that controls the Libyan capital of Tripoli, called for the signing of a similar agreement between Greece and the elected Libyan parliament based in Tobruk, in the country's east.
In November last year, Turkey signed a maritime deal with the Muslim Brotherhood government in Libya to carve out Greece’s oil and gas rich waters between them without acknowledging that islands have an EEZ. The United Nations Charter Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defends Greece’s vision of how the EEZ between Greece and Turkey should look.
However, this is rejected by Ankara who refuse to acknowledge that islands have an EEZ or continental shelves, and is the main reason why Turkey is one of only 15 countries in the whole world to not sign and/or ratify UNCLOS.
Yesterday, things rapidly changed when Greece and Italy signed a historic agreement that demarcates the EEZ of the two countries in the Ionian Sea.
The Greek-Italy deal shows that Greece wants to resolve issues diplomatically and peacefully, as it repeatedly calls to do with Turkey and has done so with Italy.
To strengthen relations with countries that adhere to international law, the Libyan Parliament has released an announcement that it wants to resolve the maritime border with Greece according to international law, unlike the Turkey-Tripoli deal.
Although the Libyan Civil War has been going on for years, Greece had no involvement in it until Turkey dragged it into it when it signed the deal with the Muslim Brotherhood government to steal Greek maritime space.
Since then the Libyan National Army has gained more legitimacy and international recognition in its fight against Turkish-backed jihadists.
This post was last modified on June 10, 2020 4:57 pm