Libya’s diplomatic note to Athens, in which Tripoli challenges Greek hydrocarbon exploration activities and even warns that bilateral negotiations could be suspended, prompted an immediate response from Greek diplomatic sources.

According to the sources, this is not a new diplomatic note from Libya. It is a note issued last August that reiterates long-standing Libyan positions.

They emphasized that Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already taken the appropriate steps and responded through diplomatic channels, rejecting the claims as baseless.

In the absence of a maritime delimitation agreement with Libya, Greece applies the median line in accordance with international law. Libya itself has also announced offshore blocks based on this line.

The two countries are continuing discussions that began over the delimitation of their respective Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs).

The conduct of this bilateral dialogue does not entail suspending the exercise of lawful sovereign rights, nor does it constitute acceptance of unilateral claims.

Libya issues a warning

Earlier, in a diplomatic note sent to Greece on August 24, Libya did more than simply protest the announced exploration activities in areas south of Crete. It warned that their continuation, along with similar actions, “could negatively affect the course of bilateral negotiations between the two countries” and potentially even lead to their “suspension.”

In its diplomatic note, Libya expressed its objection to exploration and prospecting activities “being conducted in maritime areas that have not been delimited between the two countries, as well as the expansion of these areas.”

It also voiced concern over the Greek government’s invitation to tender, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on August 17, 2026, confirming information previously published in the Greek Government Gazette (issue 3948, dated June 30, 2026). According to those notices, the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company (HEREMA) would grant a license for seismic surveys in an area south of Crete, the Peloponnese and the Ionian Sea.

“The course of bilateral negotiations could be negatively affected”

The diplomatic note states that “these actions constitute an explicit violation and infringement of the Libyan continental shelf, as officially announced and registered with the United Nations on May 27, 2025.”

It further warns Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that:

“Such actions could negatively affect the course of bilateral negotiations between the two countries, which, despite progressing slowly, have made progress in the rounds held so far. However, the continuation of these violations could potentially lead to their suspension, given that both sides have agreed to refrain from provocative actions that would affect the course and continuation of the negotiations.”

The Libyan side refers to the international public tender for the granting of “permits to acquire and process non-exclusive seismic data within maritime areas in western and southern Greece,” issued by the Committee for the Granting of Marine Exploration Licenses (EXAETH).

The tender concerns the launch of 2D and 3D seismic surveys in eight areas, including South of Crete 1, South of Crete 2 and Southwest of Crete.

These are areas whose delimitation follows Greek legislation, specifically Law 4001/2011, which establishes the median line as the outer limit of Greece’s EEZ in the absence of a bilateral delimitation agreement.

The boundaries of the Greek offshore blocks and the permits to be issued for exploration overlap in certain places with areas attributed to Libya under the Turkish-Libyan memorandum as part of what the article describes as its purported EEZ. They also overlap with areas Libya is attempting to claim as its own EEZ by applying the general reasoning used in the Turkish-Libyan memorandum, as well as through unilateral actions such as closing the Gulf of Sirte and disregarding the effect of islands such as Gavdos.

Libya’s protest

The Libyan side is protesting the Greek exploration activities, arguing that the two countries have agreed to avoid “provocative actions.” At the same time, however, Libya is seeking to consolidate the Turkish-Libyan memorandum and wants Greece to accept, during bilateral talks, its efforts to establish faits accomplis.

These efforts include submitting to the United Nations a map of maritime zones that Libya has unilaterally defined on the basis of the Turkish-Libyan memorandum, along with all of its far-reaching claims over the Greek continental shelf.

The latest development is particularly significant because, in eastern Libya, the departure of Aguila Saleh from the presidency of the House of Representatives was announced after 12 years in the position. He is to be replaced by another politician associated with Saddam Haftar’s circle.

Saleh was one of the politicians with whom Greece had maintained a constructive understanding and open channels of communication. He was also among those who opposed the signing of the Turkish-Libyan memorandum from the outset.

With his replacement, it is now left entirely to the Haftar camp to decide whether to yield to pressure from Ankara and proceed with formal ratification of the Turkish-Libyan memorandum by the House of Representatives.

Such a development would not change the situation on the ground, but it would lend a veneer of legality to the approval process and bind any future unified Libyan government once one is formed.