On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held a phone call in which they reviewed the latest developments concerning Libya and discussed maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
According to a statement from Egypt’s presidency, the conversation focused heavily on Libya’s recent legal filings at the United Nations, where Tripoli reaffirmed the validity of its controversial 2019 maritime agreement with Turkey.
The deal, registered with the UN in December 2019, defines exclusive economic zones between Libya and Turkey and has long been rejected by both Greece and Egypt.
Libya claims that the agreement complies with international law and constitutes a fair settlement. It also argues that neither Greece nor Egypt holds sovereign rights over the areas defined in the Libya-Turkey deal.
In response, Greek diplomatic sources revealed that Athens is preparing legal memoranda to counter Libya’s claims. Greece and Egypt have both rejected the 2019 agreement, arguing that it disregards their own continental shelves and undermines regional legal norms. The dispute is particularly sensitive as both countries seek to protect their energy interests in the Mediterranean, where recent discoveries have raised
The dispute underscores how Libya, still fractured and without a unified government, continues to influence broader geopolitical tensions in the Mediterranean. Both Egypt and Greece reiterated during the call the need to stabilize Libya and support the UN-led political process aimed at unifying the country and holding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.
The conversation also touched on enhancing bilateral cooperation between Cairo and Athens in energy, investment, trade, and electricity interconnection. However, Libya’s maritime stance dominated the exchange, signaling growing regional frustration with Tripoli’s foreign policy posture amid ongoing internal division.
