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Greek PM Agrees to Talks with Libya on Maritime Zones

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis waits to welcome the head of the Presidential Council of Libya Mohamed al-Menfi at the Maximos Mansion, in Athens, Greece, April 14, 2021. (Reuters)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis waits to welcome the head of the Presidential Council of Libya Mohamed al-Menfi at the Maximos Mansion, in Athens, Greece, April 14, 2021. (Reuters)
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Greek PM Agrees to Talks with Libya on Maritime Zones

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis waits to welcome the head of the Presidential Council of Libya Mohamed al-Menfi at the Maximos Mansion, in Athens, Greece, April 14, 2021. (Reuters)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis waits to welcome the head of the Presidential Council of Libya Mohamed al-Menfi at the Maximos Mansion, in Athens, Greece, April 14, 2021. (Reuters)

Greece and Libya have agreed to hold talks on marking out their maritime zones in the Mediterranean, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday, after a meeting with the president of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Menfi.

In a statement after the meeting, Mitsotakis said the two leaders "agreed on the immediate resumption of talks between Greece and Libya on the delimitation of the maritime zones".

Libya's new unity government took office on March 16, succeeding two warring administrations that had ruled eastern and western regions during a decade of violent chaos since the overthrow of leader Moammar al-Gaddafi.

Mitsotakis said Athens aimed to reset relations with Libya, which were soured by the Tripoli government's signing a maritime boundary accord in 2019 with Turkey, Greece's regional rival.

The issue has fed into tensions between Athens and Ankara over territorial and energy issues in the eastern Mediterranean that brought the two NATO allies close to armed conflict last year.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey and Libya were committed to the 2019 accord after talks with Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh in Ankara.

That accord, which prompted Greece to expel the Libyan ambassador at the time, mapped out a sea boundary between Turkey and Libya close to the Greek island of Crete. Athens has said it has no legal force and must be cancelled.

Last year Greece signed an agreement with Egypt designating an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean, which Turkey has said infringes its own continental shelf, and which overlaps with the maritime zones it agreed with Libya.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is due to visit Turkey on Thursday for talks on various issues of contention.

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Arab World

Lebanese President Faces Domestic, Foreign Challenges

Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
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Lebanese President Faces Domestic, Foreign Challenges

Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

The election of a new president in Lebanon does not mean the country has come out of the economic and political crises which have gutted it for years. Yet Thursday’s vote marks the beginning of a new phase that carries many challenges for the president and the upcoming government.

It is Joseph Aoun’s responsibility now to appoint a prime minister following binding parliamentary consultations and then form the Cabinet together with the PM.

According to observers, Aoun’s term should carry a roadmap to salvage the country, and a clear plan to address crises and domestic and foreign challenges.

However, there is no magic wand to solve Lebanon’s entire crises.

Instead, Aoun needs a unified working team that should draft a clear ministerial statement that reflects the President’s inaugural speech and his pledge of a “new era” for Lebanon.

“The president's speech constitutes a detailed program for governance. However, his program needs a cabinet capable of implementing it,” former Minister Ibrahim Najjar told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Najjar described the new President as an honest, clean and courageous Lebanese man.

“His election must be followed by the formation of a bold cabinet with new faces, capable of working and making achievements,” he said.

“The Lebanese people expect President Aoun to change the quota-based mentality of politicians. They hope his term will help remove old political figures, who are rooted in the Lebanese quagmire,” the former minister noted.

Former MP Fares Souaid told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun’s first task is to implement the Constitution and the National Accord document.

“In the early 1990s, the Constitution was no longer being implemented due to the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. In 2005, the Constitution was again ignored because of Iranian arms.”

Therefore, Soueid said, the Lebanese eagerly expect this new era to constitute a real opportunity for the implementation of both documents.

For years, Lebanon has failed to properly implement its Constitution and UN resolutions, mainly because some political parties had considered their implementation as “a target against their so-called resistance.”

“With the election of President Joseph Aoun, Lebanon has opened a blank page that could meet the aspirations of the Lebanese people, and write a new chapter in the country’s history,” Najjar said.

According to Soueid, Aoun has a task to return Lebanon to its Arab identity. “This is slowly beginning to show through the decline of Iranian influence in the region,” he said.

Also, Soueid said, the new President should mend Lebanon’s relations with the international community by implementing all UN resolutions.

Addressing Parliament and Lebanese people with an acceptance speech, Aoun on Thursday vowed that the Lebanese authorities will have the monopoly on arms and will be committed to a strong state that will extend its sovereignty over the entire territory.

“This is in line with UN resolutions, which if implemented, will bring Lebanon back to the Arab and international scene,” Soueid said.