Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis travels to Benghazi on Sunday for a key meeting with the head of the Libyan National Army and de facto ruler of eastern Libya, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

At the forefront of the agenda are bilateral relations and the need to restart talks on maritime boundary delimitation.

Central to the discussions is Greece’s proposal to resume dialogue on defining the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between the two countries.

Athens maintains that Greece consistently upholds international law and exercises its sovereign rights in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Gerapetritis is also scheduled to return to Libya  on July 15 for talks with officials from the Tripoli-based authorities. Gerapetritis said that it was not possible to combine his Benghazi and Tripoli meetings on the same trip, due to his heavy schedule.

Once considered an ally of Greece, Haftar’s relationship with Athens has soured in recent months. The shift is largely attributed to a spike in migrant arrivals from eastern Libya.

The recent push toward ratification of the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum by the eastern Libya-based House of Representatives, an agreement Haftar had previously opposed, has added to the tensions.

Just days ago, Gerapetritis described the Turkish-Libya memorandum as “unsubstantiated, invalid and against international law,” adding “No matter who signs it, it has no legal effect.”

Athens opposes the agreement, saying it has no legal basis as it seeks to create an exclusive economic zone from Turkey’s southern Mediterranean shore to Libya’s northeast coast, ignoring the presence of Crete.

Source: Ekathimerini.com