The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered today (10.01.2023) to the Embassy of Libya in Athens a Note Verbale in which it refutes the non-existent complaints about “illegal” actions of the research vessel SANCO SWIFT.

Specifically, according to diplomatic sources, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the seismic surveys carried out by the research vessel, south of the Peloponnese and south-west of Crete, are taking place in areas of Greek jurisdiction, in accordance with the rules of the International Law of the Sea.

The coordinates of the areas in which the surveys are carried out are accessible to all interested parties through the publication of relevant NAVTEX. The Greek side welcomes the reference, by the Libyan side, to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

However, it reminds the Libyan side that the two illegal and non-existent memoranda of understanding it has signed with Turkey (November 20219 and October 2022) flagrantly violate fundamental provisions of UNCLOS, which also reflect rules of international customary law.

In addition, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasises that these illegal memoranda ignore and violate Greece’s sovereign rights over its continental shelf, as well as its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its Exclusive Economic Zone.

Through the Note Verbale, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again rejects the memoranda in question, something it has done in the past with related Verbal Notes.

In the context of the historical ties of friendship between the two countries and their peoples, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates its wish for the resumption of bilateral cooperation in a spirit of mutual trust.

Finally, with the aforementioned Note Verbale, Greece expresses once again its readiness to continue negotiations with the Libyan government that will emerge after the elections, for the delimitation of maritime zones, based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.