A serious diplomatic incident occurred during the visit of Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias to Libya as the caretaker government Dbeibah attempted to entrap the Greek minister upon his arrival in Tripoli.
Initially, a visit to Tripoli was not on the program of Dendias trip to Libya. However, Foreign Ministry sources report that on the eve of his visit to Benghazi, Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi, had requested the Greek minister also visit Tripoli for a meeting with him.
The meeting was scheduled on the condition that no one else would attend.
As it turned out, however, at the airport of Tripoli, Dendias was awaited by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the caretaker government of Dbeibah, Najla Mangoush, who signed with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu an agreement based on the illegal Turkish-Libyan "memorandum" of 2019, which has been condemned by the international community.
Negotiations followed on the flight ladder of the plane carrying Dendias, who finally decided to cancel the visit to Tripoli and to continue to Benghazi in order to meet with the president of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh Issa, as well as with other Libyan officials.
Then the second phase of the episode unfolded, with Libyan authorities refusing to approve the flight plan of the aircraft carrying Nikos Dendias to Benghazi.
Eventually the plane took off with a delay and through the Malta Flight Information Region reached the airspace over eastern Libya in order to finally land in Benghazi.
It is recalled that the position of Athens, with which Egypt also aligns, is that the term of office of the government of Tripoli has expired and it does not have the legitimacy to sign international agreements that bind the future of the country, but instead its sole mission is to lead the country to elections, which he keeps postponing.
During the visit to Benghazi, Dendias will deliver vaccines against the coronavirus, donated by Greece.
In addition, during his stay in Benghazi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will also attend an event presenting Greece's contribution to a program of the UN World Food Program for the restoration of the port of Benghazi.
The port, as noted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is of particular importance as a gateway for humanitarian aid to Sub-Saharan Africa to deal with food crises faced by the region.
Dendias will have a meeting with the Presidium of the Hellenic Community of Benghazi.
The foreign minister's discussions with Libyan officials during his visit, the ministry emphasises, "are expected to focus on strengthening the cooperation between Greece and Libya, always based on the respect of International Law and especially the Law of the Sea, in the relations between the European Union and Libya and in the wider developments in the Mediterranean region."
"It is also expected to discuss the constitutional basis for holding elections in Libya as soon as possible," the statement added.
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