Letymbiotis: Turkey-Libya Deal Remains Illegal

According to Haravgi, the agreement has drawn strong reactions from across the Greek Cypriot political spectrum. Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis alleged that Turkey was seeking to create fait accompli situations in the Eastern Mediterranean through this development.

Letymbiotis described the Turkey-Libya agreement as illegal, invalid and void, arguing that it could not reshape international law.

He said the European Union’s potential role should not be overlooked, referring to a joint statement by the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council. He also noted that the foreign ministers of the Republic of Cyprus, Greece and Egypt had held a telephone conversation.

Letymbiotis said the EU’s fundamental expectation was that international law be respected and that Turkey end its approach in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The newspaper reported that AKEL, DISY and DIPA had also criticised the Turkey-Libya agreement.

According to the report, AKEL argued that the agreement clearly violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and infringed on the rights of third countries, including Greece, concerning the maritime zones of islands.

AKEL said maritime delimitation should be conducted on the basis of international law, with the participation and agreement of all states involved in and affected by the process.

DISY condemned the Libyan Parliament’s decision, arguing that the agreement directly concerned the Greek Cypriot administration and could not produce legal consequences for third countries, the newspaper reported.

DIPA called on the Greek Cypriot and Greek governments to take coordinated action based on specific objectives to prevent Turkey and Libya from creating fait accompli situations in the Eastern Mediterranean through the agreement.

The report also quoted Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis as saying that the Libyan Parliament’s approval did not confer any additional legal validity on the agreement.