Greece, Cyprus and Israel jointly declared the 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime agreement legally void at a trilateral defense...

Greece, Cyprus and Israel jointly declared the 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime agreement legally void at a trilateral defense meeting in Athens on Thursday, saying it infringes on the sovereign rights of other countries and cannot create any legal obligations for third states. The three countries brought together senior defense policy officials to address security challenges across the Eastern Mediterranean. Their joint statement rejected the deal outright, stating it disregards internationally recognized principles governing maritime boundaries and jurisdiction. The timing is significant. Libya's House of Representatives ratified the Turkey-Libya memorandum on October 20, 2026, reversing its previous opposition to the agreement. Athens, Nicosia and Jerusalem responded swiftly and in unison. Beyond the maritime dispute, the meeting covered a wide range of security cooperation. The three sides agreed to explore a joint defense-industry working group aimed at shared development, production and technology, while also addressing terrorism, advanced weapons proliferation and threats to regional infrastructure. The trilateral also reaffirmed support for Cyprus's sovereignty and territorial integrity in line with UN Security Council resolutions, and stressed freedom of navigation and energy cooperation as pillars of regional stability. Officials called out unilateral claims, coercive actions and threats of force as unacceptable, warning that no country in the region should serve as a platform for actions that threaten security. The meeting built on a joint declaration adopted when the three countries' leaders met in Jerusalem on December 22, 2025, and officials reiterated an open invitation for other like-minded nations to join the framework. Greece and Israel have deepened their bilateral relationship considerably over the past decade, with defense ties recently including a roughly three-billion-euro agreement signed in August for the Achilles Shield multilayered air-defense system. #Greece #Cyprus #EasternMediterranean