Greece threatens to expel the Libyan ambassador to Athens if he does not disclose the “maritime boundaries” Agreement between Libya and Turkey until next Thursday, December 5,
Athens is concerned about the agreement that is supposed to determine the maritime boundaries between the two countries even though the island of Crete and its continental shelf are located within these “imaginary borders.”
Having summoned the Libyan Ambassador late on Thursday, Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, expressed not only his concerns but he sent him home with the ultimatum.
If the ambassador fails to present the contents of the agreement, he will be treated by the Greek authorities as persona non grata and will be expelled.
At the same time, Greece has reportedly sent an invitation to the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament to visit Athens. The Parliament Speaker is affiliated with General Haftar.
Dendias also summoned the Turkish ambassador to Athens and asked for explanations. At the same time, he contacted his Cypriots and Egyptian counterparts, Nikos Christodoulidis and Sameh Shoukry.
The European Union has expressed its displeasure about the Agreement to the internationally recognized Libyan government that signed the deal on Wednesday. Greece is among the countries that have recognized the government in Libya.
A day later, Dendias described the Agreement as being “on the verge of ridiculous.”
The Foreign Ministry’s spokesman told journalists:
“The signing by Turkey and Libya of a memorandum of understanding cannot violate the sovereign rights of third countries. Such an action would be a flagrant violation of the International Law of the Sea and would produce no legal effect. Moreover, such an action would not be consistent with the principle of good neighbourliness, which should govern relations between neighbouring states.”
Demarcation of maritime boundaries that define the Exclusive Economic Zones are agreed between two countries. However they can not be done deliberately, especially when islands of other countries belong to these areas.
The Turkish-Libyan Agreement could not stand in any international court.
