Greece is expected to ask Egypt to intervene to dissuade the government in eastern Libya backed by General Khalifa Haftar from ratifying a maritime agreement with Turkey, Middle East Eye can reveal.
Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis is expected to raise the issue with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty on Wednesday, two regional officials with knowledge of the matter told Middle East Eye.
Libya’s internationally recognised government in Tripoli signed a contentious maritime demarcation agreement with Turkey in 2019 that ignored Greece’s claims to exclusive economic zones, including via major Greek islands like Crete and Rhodes.
Greece countered that maritime agreement the next year by signing its own deal with Egypt. Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has opposed Turkey’s ambitions for years and is backed by Cairo along with the UAE.
Any move by eastern Libya to endorse Turkey’s position would represent a sea change for the eastern Mediterranean, where regional actors hope to develop potentially lucrative natural gas deposits.
