Greece and Libya to “immediately” restart discussions on maritime zones

Following Wednesday’s meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the president of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Menfi, Greece and Libya will immediately resume talks on delimitating maritime zones.

Mitsotakis said the two leaders “agreed on the immediate resumption of talks between Greece and Libya on the delimitation of the maritime zones”.

The prospects of expanding economic relations were also discussed, which will be the subject of the Deputy Foreign Minister, Costas Frangogiannis, visit to Libya soon.

Emphasis was also placed on cooperation in the field of Culture.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, the Government Spokeswoman, Aristotle Peloni and the Director of the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister, Ambassador Eleni Sourani.

Mitsotakis said to Menfi: “I want you to know that Greece will stand by you and the Libyan people, in your difficult task of rebuilding your homeland.”

After emphasising that Libya’s destiny should be made by Libyans, Mitsotakis said “a prerequisite for this is the withdrawal of all troops from Libya.”

This was in reference to the Turkish troops and Syrian mercenaries operating in Libya.

For his part, Menfi emphasised the rich Greek history in Libya and the friendship between the two peoples.

He also described Greece as Libya’s main “gateway” to the European Union.

“We are always interested in our friendship with the European Union and our main concern has always been for Greece to become the gateway to the European Union,” he said.

He stressed: “We take care of the development of relations, we take care of the opening of new horizons in relations, especially in relations with Greece.”

“And if at some point these relationships went through some difficult times, this can be resolved through dialogue and I personally believe that the commonalities that unite us will help us to cope with any difficulties,” he added.

Menfi also encouraged Greek companies to invest in Libya “given the stability that my country is currently experiencing.”

The Libyan President assured Greece that the Presidential Council was determined to maintain sovereignty of Libya and that was linked “to the absolute and complete withdrawal of all militias”.

He said “on this matter we have discussed with various parties on the fulfilment of this goal, for the militias to leave Libya.”

READ MORE: Why Greece is changing its Libyan strategy and what is Turkey’s role.