Libya has sent Greece a formal diplomatic note threatening to suspend maritime boundary negotiations if Greek-authorized...

Libya has sent Greece a formal diplomatic note threatening to suspend maritime boundary negotiations if Greek-authorized energy exploration south of Crete continues. The note, delivered on August 24, accuses Greece of violating Libyan continental shelf rights and warns the ongoing surveys could derail talks that had been making slow but steady progress. In the note addressed to the Greek Foreign Ministry, Tripoli cited a formal continental shelf claim it registered at the United Nations on May 27, 2025, and called the exploration licenses issued for seismic surveys in western and southern Greek waters a direct violation of those boundaries. Libya warned that continued activity of this kind would likely cause it to suspend bilateral negotiations entirely, pointing to an earlier agreement between the two sides not to take provocative steps while talks were underway. The exploration in question involves non-exclusive seismic data licenses issued by Greece's Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management agency, with American energy giant Chevron preparing to begin surveys in blocks south of Crete. The area sits in waters claimed under the deeply controversial Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum of 2019, which Greece and much of the international community reject as legally invalid. Adding another layer of complexity, political leadership in eastern Libya just shifted significantly. Aqila Saleh, who had served as speaker of the House of Representatives for 12 years and was one of the strongest voices against the Turkey-Libya maritime deal, has been replaced by a figure from the circle of Saddam Haftar. That transition now leaves it entirely in the Haftar camp's hands whether to formally ratify the Turkish memorandum through parliament. A formal ratification would not change facts on the ground, but would give the agreement a veneer of legitimacy and legally bind any future unified Libyan government to its terms. #Greece #EasternMediterranean #EnergyGeopolitics