Greece’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York has delivered a Note Verbale in response to Libya’s earlier communication of 20 June over the announcement of maritime blocks south of Crete.
According to Keep Talking Greece, the Greek submission rejects Libya’s position, with diplomatic sources in Athens insisting that the disputed areas fall within Greece’s continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) under international law of the sea.
Athens maintains that these zones have been defined on the basis of the median line between Greece and Libya, alongside the Greece–Egypt EEZ agreement. The same principle, Greece says, applies to existing licences granted by its authorities for hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation in the region.
The Greek note argues that Libya’s maritime claims disregard Greece’s sovereign rights and violate international maritime law. It links Libya’s position to the 2019 Türkiye–Libya memorandum, which Athens considers “illegal” and “null and void,” as well as to Libya’s unilateral closure of the Gulf of Sidra — a matter on which Greece has already lodged a complaint with the UN.
Diplomatic sources cited by Keep Talking Greece added that Athens places emphasis on Libya’s stated readiness for dialogue and negotiation over the matter. Greek diplomacy, they said, is already pursuing this course, citing recent initiatives by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as evidence of a willingness to engage.
The maritime dispute remains one of several points of contention between the two countries, complicated further by overlapping agreements with third states and ongoing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean over energy exploration rights.
