A meeting in Athens between Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and acting Libyan Foreign Minister Taher Salem Al Baour has paved the way for the two countries to begin the process of delimiting exclusive economic zones (EEZs) across the eastern Mediterranean.
The move is seen as significant, as it marks a shift by Libya’s provisional government in Tripoli away from its earlier stance, based on a 2019 maritime deal with Turkey, that extended its EEZ claims to within six nautical miles of Greek territory, effectively ignoring the presence of Greek islands such as Crete.
Following ministerial talks, technical committees from both sides met to begin work on the EEZ issue, with the next session scheduled in Tripoli.
FM George Gerapetritis meets tdy @GreeceMFA the Acting FM of the Government of National Unity of Libya, Taher Salem Al Baour
— Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (@GreeceMFA) September 17, 2025
Συνάντηση ΥΠΕΞ Γιώργου Γεραπετρίτη με τον ασκούντα χρέη ΥΠΕΞ της Κυβέρνησης Εθνικής Ενότητας της Λιβύης, Taher Salem Al Baour pic.twitter.com/fCjiVHPukv
The ministers also discussed cooperation on combating migrant trafficking from eastern Libya to Crete, with Gerapetritis confirming Greece’s readiness to continue training Libyan coast guard personnel.
Both sides expressed interest in expanding ties across economy, energy, transport and construction, agreed to launch direct flights between Athens and Tripoli, and to organise a Greek business mission to Tripoli in the autumn.
Concluding the talks, Gerapetritis stressed the importance of respecting international law and reiterated Greece’s and the EU’s rejection of the “illegal and baseless” Turkish-Libyan memorandum.
