Egypt, Greece denounce 'unlawful' MoUs between Libya's PM, Turkey

CAIRO – 2 December 2019: As Egyptian Foreign Minister met on Sunday with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, they have both condemned the MoUs signed recently between Turkey and Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord Fayez Al-Sarraj, stressing that such agreements are illegal.

The MoUs signed in November are related to security and maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean. Egypt has earlier rejected the MoUs, saying that they "pose no legal effect".

The two ministers, in this regard, discussed Turkey's negative intervention in the Libyan affairs, in a way that is inconsistent with efforts to achieve political settlement in the war-torn country, Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman said.

Also, they discussed the stance towards the Palestinian issue and the peace process, where they both agreed on the commitment to the two-state solution to reach desired peace. They also reviewed regional developments in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran.

International issues of mutual concern, including counter-terrorism and illegal immigration were also discussed during the meeting.

At the level of bilateral relations, Shoukry hailed the growth and development of cooperation between the two countries in various fields, and highlighted the positive outcome of the the Egyptian-Cypriot-Greek summit hosted by Cairo in October this year, during which Sisi met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Shoukry affirmed the need to continue cooperation between Greece and Egypt, to maintain the level of bilateral relations at all levels, especially economic ties. He stressed the need to strengthen trade ties and increase the value of trade exchange to reflect the level of special political relations between the countries and the proximity of ports between them.

Shoukry suggested urging Greek companies to increase their investments in Egypt to take advantage of the promising opportunities in various fields for the benefit of the people of the two friendly countries.

In July, Shoukry met with his Greek counterpart in Athena and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for focusing on ways of promoting bilateral ties and regional and international issues of mutual concern, mainly terrorism, illegal immigration and Middle East developments.

In the October meeting between Sisi, Mitsotakis, and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, they condemned Turkey's "illegal" bid to drill inside Cypriot waters, AP reported.

“Turkey’s unacceptable practices and drilling ... are a blatant assault on the rights of the Cypriot Republic and the international law,” Anastasiades told a joint news conference.