Greece Steadfast Following Libya’s Claims of Sovereign Rights Violation

Shortly after the Libyan Foreign Ministry issued a statement accusing Greece of violating Libya’s sovereign rights on Thursday, chatter within the Greek diplomatic system started, with sources from the Greek Foreign Ministry commenting “Greece is not afraid to exercise its own sovereign rights.”

Libya’s irriation has to do with two maritime blocks south of the Greek island of Crete where Greece is interested in allocating hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation rights.

Libya, urged by Turkey, claims this area as part of their own Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and signed a controversial and internationally unrecognized deal with Ankara in 2o19 to this affect.

#Libya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly rejected #Greece’s decision to launch an international tender for hydrocarbon exploration in blocks south of #Crete; some of them are in areas disputed with the Libyan State.

The Ministry said in a statement that the Greek move… pic.twitter.com/pWTG8hJmyS

— The Libya Observer (@Lyobserver) June 19, 2025

The news out of Tripoli comes ahead of the upcoming visit of Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis to Libya, and brings the Turkey-Libya memorandum back into the spotlight.

Sources from the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy emphasized: “Greece actively exercises its sovereign rights with unwavering commitment to International Law and the Law of the Sea. The Greek government does not abandon dialogue, but always within the framework of international legality.”

As a further testament to Greece’s focus on dialogue, it has also recently sought the assistance of Egypt to intervene in the Libya-Turkey deal.