By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) – Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis visited Libya on Tuesday to discuss issues of the demarcation of maritime borders and an influx of irregular migrants.
During his visit to the capital Tripoli, which he characterized as a message of “peace, friendship and good neighborly relations,” Gerapetritis met Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, according to Greek public broadcaster ERT.
Maintaining that Greece and Libya are neighbors and partners in civilization and history, Gerapetritis said: “What unites us, geography and history, outweighs what divides us.”
He also expressed hope that the visit would mark the beginning of a new era between the two countries.
“Greece can and should be Libya’s voice in Europe and the world,” he said.
Gerapetritis also met with his Libyan counterpart Taher Al-Baour to discuss these important matters.
According to the broadcaster, he reiterated Athens’ objection to the Turkish-Libyan 2019 maritime demarcation deal and noted the country’s willingness to resume negotiations for a maritime agreement between Greece and Libya after they were interrupted some 15 years ago.
The outlet commented that Athens is not ignoring the Turkish influence on Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord but sees the current state of affairs as an opportunity to bring the Dbeibeh government to the negotiation table.
Amid improving relations between eastern Libya and Türkiye and reports that the parliament in Benghazi is also preparing to approve the Turkish-Libyan maritime deal, Gerapetritis also visited Benghazi on July 6 and met Khalifa Haftar, commander of the eastern Libyan forces.
In a June 20 letter to the UN, Libya accused Greece of violating Libyan rights by leasing two offshore blocks southwest of the island of Crete to ExxonMobil, an area covered under the Turkish-Libyan maritime border deal, for hydrocarbon exploration.