The reactions after yesterday’s signing of the memorandum between the Libyan government of national unity based in Tripoli and Turkey were not as celebratory and festive as the Turkish officials and Turkish media tried to pass off.

First of all, the “removal” of the competent Minister of Petroleum, who had expressed reservations – “observations” as he called them, regarding the draft of the memorandum that was finally signed, should be seriously taken into consideration, with the Libyan Minister of Economy stepping in at the last moment to sign on behalf of the government of national unity in lieu of the actual competent Minister was in South Africa.

Following this, there was the reference of the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the joint press conference with her Turkish counterpart where she stated that the Turkish-Libyan “memorandum” of 2019 has not yet been ratified.

Then, of course, there was the strong reaction of the President of the Libyan House of Representatives, as well as the competent Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which, in a long announcement last night, emphasised that the mandate of the government of national unity has ended and it does not have the right to sign international agreements.

It stressed the memorandum signed yesterday is illegal and invalid and as the announcement of the Libyan Parliament stated among other things,  “is not even worth the ink with which it was printed”.

Egypt’s immediate reaction should also be considered as it also directly disputed the legality of yesterday’s memorandum.

Finally, the statement of the representative of HR/AE Josep Borrell is also noted, which refers to the conclusions of the European Council of December 2019, regarding the illegal and invalid nature of the Turkish-Libyan “memorandum”.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias noted that these developments were “encouraging, but in any case, Greece remains vigilant. The irritation of Turkish officials should be also noted, for example, yesterday’s statements by the representative of the AKP Omer Celik.”

In light of the current developments, the Minister of Foreign Affairs continues today the round of briefings of the Ambassadors of the Permanent Members of the Security Council (yesterday France and the USA, today the United Kingdom and China), and next Sunday he will be going to Cairo, in order to have a thorough discussion with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. He also had the opportunity to present the entirety of Turkish provocation, showing relevant maps, to a group of American Members of the House of Representatives (Military Affairs Committee), who is visiting Greece these days.