Kallas to Fidan: the Turkish–Libyan memorandum “violates the sovereign rights of third states”

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas raised the ratification of the illegal Turkish–Libyan memorandum in her meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday, October 21, in Brussels. “I raised the issue of yesterday’s vote in Libya on a memorandum of understanding on maritime zones with Türkiye and stressed that it violates the sovereign rights of third states,” she wrote on X after the meeting.

“I had an extensive discussion with my colleague Hakan Fidan on a wide range of issues. Good neighbourly relations and advancing the Cyprus settlement process are of great importance,” Kallas said. Her statement followed the joint position of Presidents António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen, who called the memorandum null and void and expressed solidarity with Greece and Cyprus, as well as the statement by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

Shortly before the meeting, the Commission’s foreign policy spokesman Christian Wigand told the daily press briefing that the EU’s position is clear: actions or agreements that are not in line with international law cannot produce legal effects for third countries or for the Union’s member states. He added that the EU is assessing the implications in close coordination with member states, that dialogue, de-escalation and stability remain the priority, and that the Union is ready to defend its interests and those of its member states.

Kallas and Fidan also discussed Russia’s escalation in the Black Sea. The High Representative stressed the need to increase pressure on Moscow to end the war and noted that the EU and Turkey support an arrangement on freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. The South Caucasus and the Middle East were also on the table. “The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemen are classic terrorist tactics and must stop. In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is making navigation dangerous and expensive. Freedom of navigation must be restored without tolls or fees,” she wrote.