Illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum: Greece writes to UN Secretary-General Guterres, Egypt repeats its flat rejection to Fidan

Greece has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the illegal 2019 Turkish-Libyan memorandum, following its approval by Libya’s House of Representatives. The letter was sent by Greece’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Aglaia Balta, on the instructions of Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, setting out Greece’s long-standing positions.

The letter stresses that the memorandum is “null and void” because it contravenes the international law of the sea and cannot produce legal effects against third states. Two days earlier, Balta had raised the issue in the Security Council, in closed consultations, pointing to the risks for stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean. Athens repeats that approval by the Libyan parliament does not change its position on the memorandum’s legal standing, and the US State Department has likewise called for good-faith negotiations.

Egypt to Fidan: a categorical rejection

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan and, in a post on X, reaffirmed Egypt’s categorical rejection of the Libyan House’s ratification of the 2019 memorandum between Fayez al-Sarraj and Turkey. “Minister Fidan expressed understanding of our concerns and stressed the need for continued consultations to address them,” Abdelatty said. Athens and Cairo are meanwhile continuing consultations on extending the Greek-Egyptian EEZ.

Fidan, speaking at the 9th Istanbul Mediation Conference, argued that Turkey’s efforts in Libya show how consensus, mutual trust and inclusiveness can build confidence. “We are taking part in an outcome-oriented dialogue in Libya with all sides, in both the west and the east, as well as with international partners,” he said. Ankara’s claims are not a substitute for the law: the memorandum disregards the Greek islands’ right to maritime zones under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Gerapetritis and Mitsotakis in New York

George Gerapetritis is travelling to New York as Greece’s two-year term on the Security Council and its presidency of the Council come to an end. He is expected to hold meetings at UN headquarters, the main one with Guterres on the Cyprus issue, where Turkey continues its occupation of the north of the island since the 1974 invasion. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will also be in New York on October 28, seeking contacts with foreign leaders to brief them. On Friday Gerapetritis received the Speaker of the Cypriot House of Representatives, with whom he discussed bilateral relations, the Cyprus issue and developments in Libya, and a complete identity of views between Athens and Nicosia was recorded.