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Washington has described the ratification of the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum as \u201cunhelpful and provocative\u201d, adding its voice to the criticism of a deal that Greece says ignores the maritime rights of Crete and other Greek islands.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe announcement of the ratification of the Turkish-Libyan delimitation memorandum of understanding has raised tensions in the region and is unhelpful and provocative \u2014 and our position on this matter has not changed,\u201d a US State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital<\/a>.<\/p>\n The spokesperson urged all countries in the Eastern Mediterranean to settle maritime disputes through good-faith negotiations, noted that Greece and T\u00fcrkiye are both NATO allies and encouraged the two to work through their differences bilaterally.<\/p>\n \u201cPeaceful resolution of such disputes opens the way for commercial investment and exploration that will benefit the entire region,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Read more: Greece and Egypt Move To Expand Maritime Economic Zones<\/p>\n The firmer wording replaced an earlier State Department response that did not pass judgement on the memorandum. As Greek City Times has reported, the statement was revised after work by the US Embassy in Athens and the Greek Embassy in Washington.<\/p>\n On 20 October, Libya\u2019s eastern-based House of Representatives, which is aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar, voted unanimously to approve the memorandum T\u00fcrkiye signed in Istanbul in November 2019 with Libya\u2019s then Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, the Libyan News Agency<\/a> reported. The vote overturned the parliament\u2019s 2020 rejection of the deal and its decision to cut political ties with Ankara.<\/p>\n The memorandum claims a shared maritime boundary between T\u00fcrkiye and Libya south-east of Crete. Greece, Egypt and Cyprus have rejected it since it was signed.<\/p>\n Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Anadolu<\/a> in Brussels on 21 October that it was \u201can entirely legitimate agreement, both from a legal and a political perspective\u201d, adding: \u201cThere is no need to debate it.\u201d He said Ankara had regarded the agreement as valid since 2019.<\/p>\n Greece\u2019s Foreign Ministry<\/a> said the memorandum \u201cremains illegal, null and void\u201d, pointing out that T\u00fcrkiye and Libya \u201cdo not have opposite or adjacent coasts\u201d and that the deal \u201cdisregards the Greek islands and their entitlement to maritime zones under UNCLOS\u201d.<\/p>\n Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis was blunter in a radio interview<\/a> with Mega News 104.6 the following day: \u201cThe memorandum will not be implemented. And it will not be implemented for the simple reason that it produces no legal effects whatsoever, as it is entirely contrary to international law.\u201d He noted that Greece had already launched tenders for offshore blocks south of Crete, inside the area the memorandum covers.<\/p>\n Athens has since taken the fight to the United Nations. On 26 October, Greece delivered a statement in New York<\/a> on behalf of Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union and itself, declaring the memorandum \u201cnull and void\u201d.<\/p>\n On 29 October the dispute reached the Security Council. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, chairing a debate under Greece\u2019s presidency, accused the two countries of drawing an artificial boundary that ignores Crete, Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos. Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Y\u0131ld\u0131z replied that \u201cthis Council is not a court for delimiting maritime zones\u201d, while Greek Ambassador Aglaia Balta answered: \u201cGeography cannot be reshaped. This is not a slogan,\u201d euro2day.gr<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on 20 October that the agreement \u201cinfringes upon the sovereign rights of third states, it does not comply with the Law of the Sea, and is null and void\u201d, and reaffirmed solidarity<\/a> with Greece and Cyprus.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry also condemned the ratification. \u201cRegretfully, once again we see Turkey working to destabilise the east Mediterranean region,\u201d it said, Reuters<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n Endy Zemenides, executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, told Fox News Digital the memorandum \u201ceffectively denies maritime rights and zones of Crete\u201d and \u201cspecifically infringes on U.S. companies and U.S. energy policy\u201d. He described Crete as \u201cNATO\u2019s southernmost base\u201d.<\/p>\n US energy giant Chevron holds exploration blocks south of Crete and is expected to begin seismic surveys there in December, Proto Thema<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> US Rewords Turkish-Libyan Deal As \u201cUnhelpful and Provocative\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Greece and Turkey Clash at UN Security Council<\/p>\n Featured image: The US Department of State\u2019s Harry S. Truman Building in Washington DC. Photo: Linda D. Epstein, U.S. Department of State<\/a>, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\nWhat Libya approved<\/h2>\n
Athens: \u201cThe memorandum will not be implemented\u201d<\/h2>\n
Europe, Israel and US energy interests<\/h2>\n