Greece сhallenges Turkish-Libyan maritime agreement before UN
Greece reiterated in a letter to the UN its position that the Turkish-Libyan memorandum violates international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and cannot produce legal effects for third countries.
The letter, dated 22 October 2026, was signed by Greece’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Aglaia Balta, acting on instructions from the Greek government. It was circulated as an official document of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (A/81/455), CE Report quotes ANA-MPA.
Greece pointed out that the Memorandum of Understanding between Türkiye and the then Government of National Accord of Libya, was signed despite the fact that the two countries have no adjacent or opposite coasts and, consequently, no common maritime boundaries.
As the letter noted, the memorandum "completely disregards the presence of numerous Greek islands, including Crete and the Dodecanese islands", and their entitlements to generate maritime zones beyond the territorial sea.
Greece describes the delimitation resulting from the memorandum as a flagrant reshaping of geography, in breach of international law of the sea, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and established practice in maritime delimitation.
"Therefore, the Memorandum is illegal under international law, and the so-called ratification by the Libyan House of Representatives can neither confer any legal effect upon it nor alter its legal character as being null and void, producing no legal consequences," the letter stated.
Greece made clear that it rejects the memorandum in its entirety, stressing that any act adopted pursuant to it, including the bill for its ratification, has no legal validity.
Also Greece’s commitment to resolving maritime boundary disputes with neighbouring countries through peaceful means was once again underlined.
"While reserving all its rights, Greece reiterates its strong commitment to resolving any delimitation issue with neighbouring countries in the Mediterranean by peaceful means, in good faith and in accordance with the international law of the sea, as demonstrated by the maritime delimitation agreements it has concluded with Italy and Egypt."
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