Tripoli appears to follow the beginning of the median line between Greece and Libya rather than the illegal memorandum signed with Turkey in November 2019.
Libya’s auction of maritime plots, which ignores the illegal memorandum signed with Turkey, suggests that the North African country is now respecting Greek sovereign rights.
Naftemporiki, citing sources, reported that Athens believes Tripoli is not proceeding with auctioning maritime plots based on the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum.
According to the same sources, Tripoli appears to follow the beginning of the median line between Greece and Libya. However, Athens is waiting to see officially whether the information it has received is valid before taking a public position.
In any case, if the information is confirmed, this move effectively nullifies the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum and gives Greece the advantage of removing any false impressions created, strengthening Greece’s position of respect for International Law and the Law of the Sea.
All of this is likely to be a catalyst for the continuation of research into laying a cable for the electrical interconnection between Greece and Cyprus (with Israel as the final recipient), as Ankara attempted, using the illegal memorandum, to challenge Greece’s sovereign rights and International Law by essentially obstructing the work of research vessels by sending Turkish warships to the region.
Although some diplomatic sources believe that any predictions about Ankara’s stance are premature, which also maintains close ties with the Tripoli regime, Libya’s stance on the issue of the concession of maritime plots shows that much can change.
An important factor is who will manage the marine plots and how they can influence developments. As a leading diplomat told Naftemporiki, if the contractors are large American oil or European companies, they are very likely to contribute to solving the problem with the illegal memorandum.
Turkey and the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya signed a maritime boundary treaty on 27 November 2019 in order to establish an exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean Sea but in violation of the International Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the article 8 of the Skhirat Agreement which prohibits the Libyan Prime Minister from making international agreements without the unanimous consent of the cabinet members.
Cyprus and Egypt had dismissed the deal as “illegal,” while Greece regarded it as “void” and “geographically absurd” because it ignored the presence of the Greek islands of Crete, Kasos, Karpathos, Kastellorizo and Rhodes between the Turkish–Libyan coasts, while according to the European Union, it “infringed upon the sovereign rights of third States, did not comply with the United Nations’ Law of the Sea and could not produce any legal consequences for third states”.
Although the maritime deal was canceled by the Al-Bayda Court of Appeals of Libya on 27 January 2021, Turkey and the Government of National Unity (GNU), which unified the rival GNA based in Tripoli and the Second Al-Thani Cabinet based in Tobruk, signed a preliminary energy exploration deal based on the previous deal.
Greece and Egypt warned that they would oppose any activity in disputed areas, while Libya’s House of Representatives rejected the deal as it was signed by a government, which they say, does not have a mandate.
On 9 January 2023, a Libyan court in Tripoli suspended the deal, with the Libyan General Bar Association agreeing with the court ruling. On 19 February 2024, the Court of Appeal in Tripoli ruled to cancel the agreement.
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