Greece and Turkey engaged in a sharp diplomatic confrontation at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, over the controversial 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime agreement, exchanging accusations and conflicting interpretations of international law during a high-level debate chaired by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The confrontation followed Mitsotakis’ address to the Security Council, in which he described the agreement as illegal and accused Ankara and Tripoli of attempting to establish maritime boundaries that disregard the existence and rights of Greek islands. Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Yildiz rejected the criticism, while Greece’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Aglaia Balta, responded by reaffirming Athens’ position that the memorandum has no legal effect on Greek sovereign rights.
The exchange unfolded during the Security Council’s debate on emerging technologies and maritime security, a signature event of Greece’s October presidency, and followed the recent approval of the maritime agreement by Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives.
Turkey defends maritime agreement as Greece rejects its legitimacy
Responding to Mitsotakis, Yildiz argued that the Security Council was not a judicial body responsible for determining maritime boundaries. He maintained that a map could illustrate a country’s position but could not establish whether its claims were legally justified.
The Turkish ambassador defended the 2019 agreement, insisting that it remained in force and did not determine or prejudge the rights of third countries. Addressing the status of Greek islands, he stated that Turkey did not question their existence, population or sovereignty, but disputed the maritime entitlements they should receive when competing continental shelf and exclusive economic zone claims overlap.
Yildiz also referred to international judicial decisions under which islands do not necessarily receive full effect in every maritime delimitation. He reiterated that Turkey is not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and renewed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s proposal for an Eastern Mediterranean conference, including consideration of Turkish Cypriot interests.
Balta rejected Turkey’s arguments, stating that Greece categorically opposed the memorandum because it contradicted both geography and international law. She maintained that its recent approval by Libya’s parliament could not alter what Athens considers its legally invalid character.
“Geography cannot be redrawn. This is not a slogan,” Balta said, emphasizing that an agreement between two countries cannot undermine the sovereign rights of a third state.
The Greek ambassador also referred to Greece’s maritime delimitation agreements with Italy and Egypt as examples of negotiated arrangements consistent with international law. She rejected Turkey’s suggestion that the Security Council was an inappropriate forum for the dispute, arguing that respect for the law of the sea was fundamental to maritime security.
Following another intervention by Yildiz calling for substantive negotiations, Balta reiterated Greece’s commitment to good-neighborly relations and peaceful dispute resolution, while insisting that meaningful dialogue requires respect for sovereignty and international law.
Mitsotakis challenges Turkey-Libya deal and warns against maritime instability
The diplomatic confrontation was triggered by an unusually direct intervention from Mitsotakis, who used a map during his Security Council address to illustrate Greece’s objections to the Turkish-Libyan maritime boundary.
“The so-called Türkiye-Libya memorandum on maritime delimitation is a flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of the international law of the sea,” Mitsotakis declared. “It is illegal, it is arbitrary and it defies geography itself.”
The prime minister argued that Greece and Libya possess opposite coastlines and are therefore entitled to negotiate maritime boundaries, whereas Turkey and Libya do not have adjacent or opposite coasts. He accused the two countries of drawing an artificial boundary that effectively disregarded Crete, Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos.
“These are not uninhabited rocks in the middle of the sea,” he said, referring to the Greek islands and their populations. “They are thriving communities, with centuries of history, vibrant economies and hundreds of thousands of people who call them home.”
Mitsotakis further argued that the recent approval of the memorandum by Libya’s House of Representatives could not change its legal status, adding that the agreement should not be used to obstruct energy exploration or regional electricity and infrastructure connections.
The dispute has remained unresolved since Turkey signed the memorandum with Libya’s then internationally recognized Government of National Accord in November 2019. Greece, Cyprus and several other regional countries have rejected the agreement, while Ankara maintains that it reflects its legitimate maritime claims.
Beyond the Eastern Mediterranean dispute, Mitsotakis called for stronger international protections for commercial shipping following the sinking of a Greek-owned vessel in the Black Sea. He proposed a global maritime truce and highlighted the European Union’s Aspides naval operation in the Red Sea as an example of collective action to safeguard navigation.
The prime minister warned that disruptions to maritime trade increase transportation and insu rance costs, affect energy markets and ultimately burden consumers.
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