{"id":24429,"date":"2026-10-27T10:25:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T10:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/27\/gerapetritis-libya-criticism-outlet-faults-haftar-policy\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T10:25:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T10:25:54","slug":"gerapetritis-libya-criticism-outlet-faults-haftar-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/27\/gerapetritis-libya-criticism-outlet-faults-haftar-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Gerapetritis Libya Criticism: Outlet Faults Haftar Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"


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In a pointed Gerapetritis Libya criticism, news site Lawandorder.gr has accused Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis of letting eastern Libya drift towards Turkey before a key maritime vote.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Its column appeared on Thursday 22 October under a pen name. It followed the decision by Libya\u2019s eastern-based House of Representatives on 20 October to approve the 2019 Turkish\u2013Libyan memorandum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to the outlet, the vote overturned the idea that eastern Libya could act as a barrier to Ankara. It called the result \u201ca serious blow\u201d<\/em> to Greek strategy and blamed the Foreign Ministry and Gerapetritis personally.<\/p>\n

In its view, a country\u2019s foreign policy rests on its ability \u201cto build alliances, influence developments and prevent faits accomplis\u201d<\/em>. Legal assurances alone do not meet that test, it wrote.<\/p>\n

Read more: Greece Challenges Turkish-Libyan Memorandum at UN<\/p>\n

Haftar and the Gerapetritis Libya criticism<\/h3>\n

At the heart of the Gerapetritis Libya criticism is the eastern camp of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Greece had invested politically in contacts with eastern Libya, the outlet noted.<\/p>\n

Previously, as foreign minister until 2023, Nikos Dendias built ties with Haftar and kept channels open, it added.<\/p>\n

Now the parliament linked to the Haftar camp has backed the deal Athens rejects. His son, Saddam Haftar, also welcomed the decisions as a step beyond old differences, Lawandorder.gr wrote.<\/p>\n

For the outlet, Ankara has widened its influence where it once met strong resistance. \u201cWhat did Athens do to keep its influence in eastern Libya active?\u201d<\/em> it asked.<\/p>\n

However, the Gerapetritis Libya criticism cannot be brushed aside by citing international law, it argued. Diplomacy \u201crequires constant presence, a plan and results\u201d<\/em>, it wrote.<\/p>\n

Samaras and the minister\u2019s reply<\/h3>\n

The Gerapetritis Libya criticism echoes former prime minister Antonis Samaras, who attacked Gerapetritis and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on 20 October. Events in Libya \u201cirreparably expose\u201d<\/em> the minister, \u201cwho assured us of the exact opposite\u201d<\/em>, Samaras said.<\/p>\n

He also said Mitsotakis agreed with the minister on everything \u201cinstead of having already dismissed him\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In a radio interview<\/a> the next day, Gerapetritis hit back. Samaras was driven by \u201ca very deep intolerance\u201d<\/em> and \u201cpolitical hostility\u201d<\/em>, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no national defeat,\u201d<\/em> the minister added. Preventing the ratification \u201cwas not in Greece\u2019s hands\u201d<\/em>, he said.<\/p>\n

Officially, Athens holds that the memorandum is \u201cillegal, null and void\u201d<\/a> and has no legal effect. Gerapetritis has also said Greece has the means to block its use in practice.<\/p>\n

Still, Lawandorder.gr said the legal argument and the political reality on the ground differ. In its view, the clash with Samaras also shifted the debate from substance to a personal feud.<\/p>\n

Instead, the outlet called for a wider strategy in Greek foreign policy. That would mean contacts with all Libyan sides, coordination with Egypt and Cyprus, and pressure through the European Union.<\/p>\n

Finally, the Gerapetritis Libya criticism closes on a warning. \u201cIn foreign policy, what counts is not only what you say you do not recognise, but what you allow others to achieve,\u201d<\/em> it said.<\/p>\n

Source: Lawandorder.gr<\/em><\/p>\n

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