US: Turkish-Libyan MoU in Mediterranean is illegal

The statement comes at a crucial time as tensions escalate between Greece and Turkey

The US State Department called the Turkish-Libyan memorandum of understanding regarding the delimitation of sea borders in the Mediterranean Sea “provocative and counterproductive”.

Responding to a question by journalist Michalis Ignatiou for site hellasjournal.com, the US State Department spokesperson reiterated previous statements made by US diplomats, Assistant Secretary Bureau of Energy Resources Francis R. Fannon and Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey R. Pyatt that the the agreement between Turkey and Libya  was illegal, effectively supporting the Greek positions.

He stressed that the illegal memorandum could not, from a legal point of view, affect the rights or obligations of third countries, such as Greece.

Washington’s support on this issue for the Greek viewpoint was described by a diplomatic source cited by the website as a significant development and comes at a time when Turkey is directly threatening Greece from Evros to Crete.

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