Egyptian-Greek discussions to expand the scope of the maritime border demarcation agreement

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On Thursday, Egypt and Greece reiterated their “categorical” rejection of the Libyan House of Representatives’ ratification of the Turkish-Libyan memorandum of understanding signed in 2019 regarding the demarcation of maritime zones, stressing the importance of respecting the principles of international law.

This came during a phone call between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty and his Greek counterpart, Giorgos Gerapetritis, where discussions focused on the strategic partnership between the two countries and developments in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two ministers stressed during the call the importance of respecting the principles of the international law of the sea and the provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, related to the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, which adopts the principles of justice and fairness between countries, while agreeing to continue consultation on determining maritime borders in accordance with international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

They also agreed to continue talks on expanding the geographical scope of the 2020 exclusive economic zone demarcation agreement, according to what was stated in the Greek Foreign Ministry statement.

It is noteworthy that these objections came after the Libyan House of Representatives ratified the memorandum, after it had taken a position rejecting it, which raised Egyptian and Greek objections. Cairo insists on rejecting any unilateral arrangements that affect its maritime rights, and stresses that the memorandum of understanding cannot create legal effects against it or detract from its sovereign rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Note that the roots of the crisis go back to November 2019, when Turkey and the Libyan Government of National Accord, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, signed a memorandum of understanding to demarcate maritime borders and determine areas of maritime jurisdiction between the two sides in the eastern Mediterranean.

While the memorandum raised objections from Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, which were considered to conflict with their maritime rights and ignore the legal impact of the islands in determining maritime areas, in addition to objections related to the extent of its compatibility with the rules of international law.