Borrell condemns Turkey's 'memorandum of understanding' with Libya's transitional government

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, sent a letter to Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Tuesday, in which he condemned in the most absolute way the "memorandum of understanding" between Turkey and the transitional government of Libya, according to diplomatic sources.

In particular, the head of European diplomacy stated in his letter that the position of the European Union is absolutely clear.

Then, as disclosed by the same sources, he referred to an official EU statement that once more reaffirmed the position of the European Council in December 2019. As the EU High Representative pointed out, wanting to emphasise the EU's immediate response, the statement was made immediately after the signing of the "document" in question was made public, the diplomatic sources said.

Among other things, Borrell underlined that he will continue to defend this position whenever necessary and concluded his letter to the minister by assuring him of the European Union's solidarity with all its member-states and its continued support for the issue.

It is noted that the position of the EU in December 2019 was included in the official conclusions of the first day of the Summit.

The conclusions stated: "[...] The Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Areas in the Mediterranean violates the sovereign rights of third states, is inconsistent with the law of the sea and cannot produce legal consequences for third states. The European Council unequivocally reaffirms its solidarity with Greece and Cyprus against Turkey's specific actions."

Josep Borrell's letter was the response to a letter sent to him by the Greek Foreign Minister, immediately after his visit to Eastern Libya (17.11.2022), the diplomatic sources noted.

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