Greece expels Libyan ambassador over Turkey maritime MoU, Libyan FM says the move “unacceptable”

BY Libyan Express Dec 07, 2019 - 10:51

Libya-Turkey maritime cooperation MoU stirred tensions in eastern Mediterranean region. [Photo: Social Media]

Greece has said it will expel the Libyan ambassador to the country, angered at an accord signed on November 27 between Libya and Turkey mapping out a sea boundary between the two countries close to Crete.

Mohamed Younis AB Menfi had 72 hours to leave the country, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias told reporters on Friday, calling the Turkey-Libyan accord a “blatant violation of international law”.

Greece and Turkey are at odds over various decades-old issues ranging from mineral rights in the Aegean Sea to ethnically-split Cyprus.

Ankara condemned the decision to expel Menfi, saying: “Expelling an ambassador just because of the [agreement] that we signed is not a mature behaviour in diplomacy. This is outrageous,” According to Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who spoke to reporters in televised comments during a visit to Rome.

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Sayala told Reuters: “The move is unacceptable.”

“Greece does not have diplomatic representation in Libya, but Libya would have reciprocated the move if it did,” he said.

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