Libya expresses readiness to negotiate maritime border demarcation with Greece

CAIRO – 8 April 2021: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Wednesday that Libya expressed readiness to start direct negotiations with his country on maritime border demarcation, as reported by Russia Today.

Mitsotakis' statements were made during his visit to the North African state whereas he affirmed that the Libyan-Turkish MoU signed in December 2019 on cooperation on natural gas drilling in the Mediterranean is "illegitimate and legally powerless." The prime minister also pointed out that such MoU breaches "Greece's sovereign rights."  

The Greek prime minister also noted that the European Council adopts the same stance on the issue.

The abovementioned MoU was signed by Turkey and the former Government of National Accord (GNA).

On March 16, power was handed over from the former presidential council to the new one, and from the 2014 Government of National Accord (GNA) to the GNU led by Prime Minister Abdullah AlDabaiba. The new interim government is supposed to pave the way for holding elections on December 24.

On March 15, the GNU members and prime minister took the oath of office before the Tobruk-based House of Representatives.

The new Chair of the Presidential Council is Mohamed Menfi, and the other two members are Mossa Al-Koni, and Abdullah Al-Lafi. Dabiba-Menfi list received the necessary votes in the ballot held by the UN-fostered Libyan National Dialogue Forum on February 6.

The dismantled interim non-elected GNA used to control western Libya and was using militias and mercenaries to hold territories. Simultaneously, central and eastern Libya were under the control of the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the authority of the elected House of Representatives and an interim government it had formed. 

Unlike the GNA, which was based in Tripoli in the west, the GNU is based in Sirte located in central Libya.