Egypt to host 4-state summit after Turkey-Sarraj deal: Financial Mirror

CAIRO – 25 December 2019: Egypt will host a four-country summit with France, Cyprus and Greece in January, with the aim of thwarting recent Turkey’s widely rejected energy measures, Cyprus’s Financial Mirror reported, citing Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias.

This comes after Turkey and the government of Fayez al-Sarraj in Libya in November signed a maritime and security agreement, through which Ankara aims to achieve its energy ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean. The agreement has been rejected by many Arab and European countries, as well as the Libyan parliament.

The summit is expected to take place on January 4 or 5, according t the minister.

Egypt has earlier condemned the signing of the two memoranda of understanding on security and maritime jurisdictions between Ankara and the so-called Government of National Accord led by Sarraj, which the Libyan parliament no more recognizes.

“Egypt affirms that such memoranda possess no legal effect, as they cannot be recognized in light of the fact that Article 8 of the Skhirat Political Agreement on Libya widely accepted by Libyans defines the competences conferred to the Council of Ministers, expressly stipulating that the Council of Ministers as an entity – and not the president of the council alone – has the power to conclude international agreements,” the foreign ministry said in a separate statement.

“It is well-known that the Council of Ministers’ membership is clearly incomplete, and that it currently suffers from a serious imbalance in the representation of the Libyan areas. Accordingly, the restricted role of the prime minister is limited to managing the council’s affairs. All attempts to build legal arrangements with any other country comprise a serious breach of the Skhirat Agreement.

The MoUs have no implications on the rights of the riparian states of the Mediterranean Sea, and do not affect the maritime boundary delimitation system in the Eastern Mediterranean region,” the ministry continued.

Egypt called upon the international community to face this "negative approach," which coincides with Germany’s efforts to reach a comprehensive peaceful solution for the conflicting parties of Libya.