Following the controversial maritime and gas deals that Turkey signed with a Libyan leader, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, the two foreign ministers of Egypt and Greece met on Sunday in Cairo and considered the agreement as illegal and a threat to regional stability.
Recall that Cairo and Athens have strengthened ties in recent years, including cooperation in developing energy resources, combating terrorism, and signing new maritime border agreements with Cyprus.
At a joint news conference, Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shukry, focused on the memorandums of understanding between Turkey and Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the leader of one of two competing governments in divided Libya.
Dendias said such agreements were a threat to regional stability and added that the deal was illegal and infringed on Greek waters.
In his words, “Turkey seeks to take advantage of the turbulent situation in Libya in order to further destabilize the Mediterranean region and establish regional hegemony.
“No one can ignore geography. No one can create a virtual world”.
The Egyptian foreign minister, meanwhile, said Dbeibah’s government has no authority to conclude such deals, given that its mandate expired following Libya’s failure to hold nationwide elections in December last year.
He called for the U.N. to take “a clear position” on the legitimacy of Dbeibah’s government, saying the international body “should not keep silent.”
