Diplomatic source: Turkey blackmailed Libya into signing maritime border deal
Turkey blackmailed Libya into getting its internationally recognized government to sign an accord mapping out maritime boundaries between the two countries by sending weapons, a Greek diplomatic source said on Thursday.
According to the source, Greece has information on the shipment of weapons to the port of Libya and knows both the time of delivery and the ship with which they were carried.
Athens considers it possible for the EU to impose sanctions on Libya, but for the time being Greece does not wish to push for such measures, it said.
Concerning news that Turkey on Thursday sent the accord to the United Nations for approval, the source said that because the deal is invalid, it should not be accepted.
“What the Turks are doing is devoid of any seriousness. I think their overall analysis is wrong,” the source explained.
On Thursday, EU leaders are expected to side with Greece on the maritime deal, according to a draft statement released by Reuters on Wednesday.
The statement will say that “the Turkey-Libya memorandum of understanding on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea infringes upon the sovereign rights of third States (and) does not comply with the [UN] Law of the Sea.”
Athens has also sent two letters to the United Nations, outlining in detail its objections to the “legally invalid” deal and has called on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to bring the matter before the Security Council.
The letters – one for Guterres and one for the Security Council presidency – state that the deal blatantly violates the rules governing the law of the sea regarding the demarcation of maritime borders, as Turkey and Libya do not have overlapping sea zones or common boundaries.
