Greece has "a very structured policy concerning Libya and the results will become visible," Foreign Affairs Minister George Gerapetritis told OPEN TV in an interview on Monday.
Gerapetritis also described the Middle Eastern country as "a country of special circumstances" because it is divided into two, practically has two governments, and is experiencing conditions of great pressure.
"The recognized government of Western Libya is receiving tremendous pressure from irregular troops. Therefore, it is a country facing very great difficulties. What we have tried to do in the last two years is to upgrade our relationship with both sides, so that we keep a balanced stance. For with Western Libya we had reached a point in which there were no good relations. We had been led in 2019 to the invalid and unfounded Turkish-Libyan memorandum. Therefore, what we said was that we must build an adequate relation with both sides," Gerapetritis said.
Greece has achieved a satisfactory operational relationship with both sides, and is the only European country to be able to talk at the highest level with both sides of Libya, the FM said, adding as proof of good relations the drop in migration flows from Eastern Libya. At the same time, Greece "is today in a position to talk with Western Libya, in order to move to a delimitation between Greece and Libya, in other words, to have what International Law foresees."
Libya, the FM said, respected the Greek median line. Specifically, he said, "Under no circumstance will Greece accept a violation of its sovereign rights. In its proclamation of the maritime parcels, Libya respected the Greek median line. It is for this reason I believe it is obvious that Greece can impose its claims." He added that Greece will never give up any right emanating from International Law, and noted that Greece "will exercise all its rights in the field, under any condition, having the alliances it has."
In terms of Turkish claims, these he said are not new but decades long. "But today Greece is in a much better position compared to what it was two years ago. If we sit at the table right now and evaluate Greece's position then and the one today, it is in a much better position today," FM Gerapetritis said.