Libya to set up commission to finalise maritime zones with Greece

Consultations on defining maritime zones between Greece and Libya, launched by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias after contacts and a meeting with the President of the Libyan Parliament, are taking place with renewed vigor.

The creation of a committee to determine maritime zones between Libya and Greece was announced by the speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Aguila Saleh Issa.

The eventual agreement will be in direct competition with the agreement made with Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood Government of National Accords based in the Libyan capital of Tripoli and are at war with the Libyan Parliament.

For Greece, of course, the drafting of maritime zones with the Libyan parliament could be decisive in the dispute with Turkey and give the necessary impetus for a corresponding agreement with Egypt, where differences – for the time being – remain large and intractable. However, a possible determination of the Exclusive Economic Zone with Libya could set a sufficient precedent for resisting Turkey’s attempts to steal Greek maritime space as stipulated in the agreement it made with the Muslim Brotherhood government in Tripoli.

When Saleh was asked specifically about the recent visit of Dendias to Libya and the private contacts they had, he pointed out: “We talked about them (maritime zones), but first we decided to set up a committee of Libyan experts, who would send us their proposals, evaluate our interests, our rights, the rights of the other parties involved, and eventually raise the issue with the legislature. It will be decided how and in what form these agreements will be adopted.”

He added that the committee will be set up as soon as he returns to Libya after visiting Russia and Switzerland, and possibly Italy and Algeria.

It is recalled that on Wednesday, Dendias made a quick trip to Libya, where he met with Saleh.

After the meeting, Dendias argued that there was an agreement to establish maritime zones on the basis of international law, and not on the basis of the illegal memorandum between Ankara and Tripoli.

The Dendias-Saleh announcements follow a barrage of contacts by the Greek Foreign Minister in Cairo and Tunisia, which are estimated to be linked to the final outcome of the start of consultations to determine maritime zones. In any case, France and Russia are traditionally aware of the developments in the region, while the Athens-Rome relations remain a mystery as Turkey uses Italy as a channel to Europe.