The State Department spokesman described Turkey’s memorandum of understanding with the so-called Libyan National Agreement Government (JCC) as “provocative” and “counterproductive” recognizing that Turkish claims contravene international law, which is clear that islands produce the same maritime zones (i.e. EEZ, continental shelf) as the continental coastlines.

The State Department spokesman noted that “Decisions that do not take into account the interests of all States concerned do not and are considered provocative. In addition, contrary to what Turkey proposes, under international law as it is crystallized in the Convention on the Law of the Sea, the islands are generally entitled to the EEZ and the continental shelf to the same degree as any other land area”.

The US spokesman insisted that the announcement of the signing of the Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding “caused tensions in the region, is counterproductive and provocative”. He recalled that the text does not take into account the interests of all the States concerned, as it includes maritime areas owned or claimed by Greece.

“We note that Greece also has overlapping maritime claims in the region included in the Turkey-Libya Memorandum. As a firm policy, we encourage states to settle their disputes peacefully under international law”, the State Department spokesman added.