Greece’s response, drawn up under the instructions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is resounding. Giorgos Gerapetritisin the verbal communication of 5 December 2023 of the Permanent Mission of Libya to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, with which the Tripoli government announces the decision to establish a border zone.

The response of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Libyan decision, made in the form of a letter from the Greek Permanent Representative to the United Nations, ambassador Evangelou Sekeris to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, was posted yesterday, Saturday, as an official document of the UN General Assembly. The Greek letter has protocol number A/78/718 and was included in the category: Oceans and Law of the Sea as the 75th item on the agenda of the 78th United Nations General Assembly.

Rejecting the verbal communication of December 5, 2023 of the Permanent Mission of Libya, Greece underlines that the Libyan ministerial decision in question does not and will not prejudge any rights of Greece deriving from International Lawincluding the Law of the Sea and the positions already expressed by Greece in relation to such Libyan claims.

In particular, Greece declares clearly that the borders of the contiguous zone claimed by Libyaas shown by the relevant coordinates and the map sent by Libya to the Secretary-General, inconsistent with international law in four important respects:

Firstlythe limits north of it Gulf of Sirte are measured from a closing line across the mouth of the bay, which is not justified under the relevant rules of customary international law as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is recalled that since 1974, Greece has contested the aforementioned claim of the Gulf of Sirte by Libya, considering it to be a unilateral act that violates basic principles of international law.

Secondly, the remaining limits of the claimed contiguous zone are measured from straight baselines established by Libya in 2005. Since Libya’s coastline is neither deeply indented nor flanked by islands, these baselines are inappropriate and illegal under Article 7 of UNCLOS, which the international court considers to reflect customary international law. In this regard, it recalls the case of Nicaragua v. Colombia and the related Judgment (April 21, 2022).

Thirdlythe eastern boundary of the contiguous zone claimed by Libya follows the “eastern maritime border of Libya” described in Libya’s verbal communication dated 13 February 2023 from the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations to the Secretary-General.

The said “eastern maritime border” was also claimed by Libya under the “2019 Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of National Accord-State of Libya and Turkey on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Areas in the Mediterranean”. The said Turkish-Libyan “Memorandum” and the coordinates mentioned in it were categorically rejected by Greece. The “memorandum” is considered by Greece to be invalid and non-existent and constitutes a flagrant violation of the fundamental rules of the International Law of the Sea, including the maritime rights of the Greek islands in this area.

Also, in the letter it is recalled that Greece protested strongly about these coordinates, most recently through a letter from the Permanent Representative of Greece to the UN, dated April 24, 2023, to the Secretary General of the United Nations, in response to the above verbal communication of the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations of 13 February 2023, addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

Fourth, Greece opposes Libya’s intention to carry out inspections in this zone for issues of security and environmental violations. This is a violation of Article 33 of UNCLOS, which has also been established as customary international law.

Greece’s response reiterates once again that the Turkish-Libyan memorandum, as well as any act issued pursuant to it, and more specifically any act based on the illegal coordinates contained therein, are contrary to international law, including law of the sea. The letter also emphasizes that for Athens, the Libyan ministerial decision in question does not affect any rights of Greece deriving from international law, including the law of the sea and the positions that Greece has already expressed in relation to such claims of its Libya”.

Finally, reserving all its rights under International Law, Greece reiterates that it remains firmly committed to resolving any demarcation issues with neighboring countries in the Eastern Mediterranean by peaceful means, in good faith and in accordance with the rules of the law of the sea, as it already has it does with Italy and Egypt.