Greece responds to the UN regarding Libya’s claims: We reject the Turkey-Libya memorandum from the outset – See the letter

Greece submitted its effect to Libya’s missive to the UN of May 27, successful which Libya recorded its claims against Greece based connected the Turkey-Libya Memorandum and adjacent included a representation of these claims. The Greek effect was delivered to the UN connected September 3.

The lengthy Greek missive addresses each of Libya’s arguments, rejecting the Turkey-Libya Memorandum from the outset, and lays retired Greece’s positions connected the issues raised by Libya: the 2 plots southwest and westbound of Crete, maritime spatial planning, arsenic good arsenic the legality of the Greece-Egypt agreement and the determination connected the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) successful the Ionian Sea.

This substance could besides service arsenic the ground of Greece’s positions successful immoderate aboriginal negotiations with Libya, and its signaling of Greece’s positions and arguments is of peculiar importance, arsenic connected Wednesday the Libyan interim Foreign Minister volition beryllium successful Athens, where, among different things, the Greek broadside volition property for the constitution of a timetable for the commencement of talks connected EEZ delimitation.

The memorandum “ignores the maritime rights of the Greek islands”

The Greek missive rejects Libya’s arguments regarding the Turkey-Libya Memorandum, pointing out, among different things, that Libya and Turkey bash not stock maritime borders due to the fact that of the beingness of Greek islands. As it specifically states, the memorandum “ignores the maritime rights of the Greek islands and seeks to distort geography successful the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Regarding the claims astir the Greece-Egypt agreement, the missive stresses that this statement “was concluded betwixt states with other coasts and successful afloat compliance with the applicable provisions of the United Nations Convention connected the Law of the Sea.”

Athens wholly rejects Libya’s claims that the plots westbound and southwest of Crete, arsenic good arsenic maritime spatial planning, interruption Libya’s rights. Special notation is made to the boundaries established by the Greece-Egypt and Greece-Italy agreements, arsenic good arsenic to Law 4001/2011, which defines the outer bounds of the Greek EEZ arsenic the median enactment until a bilateral statement is reached.

On the median line

As for Libya’s assertion that delimitation should beryllium carried retired on the median enactment “between the main coasts of Libya and Greece,” a presumption that reflects Turkey’s modular statement for drafting a median enactment lone betwixt “continental coasts,” the Greek effect is categorical, stressing that:

“According to Article 121 of the Convention, which reflects customary planetary law, each Greek islands person maritime zones successful the aforesaid mode arsenic immoderate different onshore territory. Consequently, each median enactment betwixt Greece and Libya indispensable beryllium drawn with notation to basal points connected the applicable Greek islands.”

On the delimitation of Libya’s EEZ outer limits

Athens besides afloat disputes the delimitation of the outer limits of Libya’s EEZ, arsenic submitted to the UN connected May 27, noting that it utilized questionable baselines arsenic good arsenic the “closure” of the Gulf of Sirte, which is illegal. Furthermore, the eastbound portion of the representation submitted by Libya coincides with the amerciable “delimitation” of the Turkey-Libya Memorandum, portion successful different parts of the map, the rights of the Greek islands are wholly denied. Greece has already responded by characterizing arsenic amerciable some the sportfishing portion and the contiguous portion declared by Libya.

Finally, Athens, portion reserving its rights, declares its readiness to resume negotiations with the Libyan broadside connected the delimitation of the respective maritime zones, successful accordance with planetary law.