Greece has expelled the Libyan ambassador to Athens, Maiza K.Y. Gzllal after he failed to submit the text of the Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on maritime areas within the ultimatum given to him by the Greek Foreign Ministry (Greece obtained the document via a different source).

The deportation process was sped up after the Libyan diplomat was declared a persona non grata allowing him two days to leave the country on the current basis.

Following confirmation of the Turkey-Libya Memorandum, Greece’s foreign minister had called on the Libyan ambassador to express the government’s deep concern over the developments, sending an ultimatum to announce the contents of the memorandum, which is treated by the Greek authorities as undesirable person.

The developments were rapid as the Turkish House ratified the agreement with a large majority, while the Libyan parliament followed suit. The US State Department has expressed its disapproval for the MoU Ambassador  Geoffrey Pyatt who called it unhelpful and provocative.