Greece discussed on the delimitation of maritime zones Libya, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias revealed on Wednesday after meeting with Aquila Saleh, the President of the Libyan House of Representatives, in Tobruk.
“We discussed the delimitation of maritime zones between Greece and Libya, in the context not of the arbitrariness that constitutes the so-called “memorandum” Sarraj-Turkey, but of international law, in continuation of the talks between Greece and Libya in 2010,” Dendias posted on his Twitter account.
Συζητήσαμε για τον καθορισμό των θαλασσίων ζωνών μεταξύ Ελλάδας και Λιβύης, στο πλαίσιο όχι της αυθαιρεσίας που συνιστά το φερόμενο ως «μνημόνιο» Sarraj-Τουρκίας, αλλά του Διεθνούς Δικαίου, σε συνέχιση των συνομιλιών μεταξύ Ελλάδας και Λιβύης το 2010. #Libya
— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) July 1, 2020
Dendias and Saleh shared the common belief that Turkey has historical responsibilities for what is happening in Libya today and that tomorrow’s reality in Libya presupposes the withdrawal of all foreign forces..
“We have agreed that Turkey has a historic responsibility for what is happening in Libya today, as President Macron rightly said yesterday,” the Foreign Minister said adding that “the transfer of mercenaries from Syria and the violation of the arms embargo are elements that burden the Turkish stance. They create, as I said before, historical responsibilities.”
He agreed with Aquila Saleh, who is a regular interlocutor with Athens, that tomorrow’s reality in Libya would require the removal of all foreign forces.
“This is a prerequisite for peace and stability,” Dendias said and noted that Greece is helping in this direction with its participation in the operation “Peace” at sea and is ready to help even more.
They also agreed on how to deal with the Libyan crisis, which presupposes the Berlin Process and also the initiative by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Dendias revealed also that the Greek Parliament Speaker Costas Tassoulas will relaunch the Greek-Libyan Friendship Committee in the Parliament in Athens.
The Greek FM and the Libyan representative discussed the future of Greece’s relations with Libya and agreed on the possibility of a Greek consulate in Benghazi, which would facilitate trade.
“Libya wants to replace Turkish products with others of European and even Greek origin,” Dendias said.
The visit of the Greek Foreign Minister to Tobruk was reportedly not scheduled.
PS Note that Aquila Saleh is not member of the UN-recognized government in Tripolis but member of the fighting opposition.
