Greece, Egypt in talks to extend maritime zone further east

Greece ‌and Egypt ​are discussing extending their Exclusive Economic Zone eastwards towards Cyprus after ‌eastern Libya's parliament ratified a disputed maritime agreement with Turkey earlier this week, Greece's foreign minister said.

Greece, Egypt ‌and Cyprus have long opposed the Turkey-Libya maritime ‌accord, arguing that it infringes on their own maritime claims in the eastern Mediterranean. Any extension of the Greece-Egypt agreement ⁠would ​be fully in ⁠line with international law and the United Nations Convention on ⁠the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Greek Foreign Minister ​George Gerapetritis said on X.

Gerapetritis and Egyptian Foreign ⁠Minister Badr Abdelatty also reaffirmed their opposition to eastern Libya's ⁠ratification of ​the 2019 maritime memorandum between Turkey and Libya, saying they remained committed to international law ⁠and UNCLOS. Greece and Egypt signed an agreement in ⁠2020 delimiting ⁠an Exclusive Economic Zone in the eastern Mediterranean.