Mitsotakis condemns Turkey-Libya memorandum at UN Security Council

On October 29, 2026, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed a high-level UN Security Council meeting regarding international peace, security, and maritime safety. He strongly condemned the 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum, labeling it an illegal and arbitrary attempt to rewrite geography. Mitsotakis asserted that the agreement ignores the presence of Greek islands and violates the fundamental principles of the Law of the Sea, emphasizing that islands possess their own continental shelves and exclusive economic zones.

The Prime Minister argued that no bilateral agreement between two nations can strip a third state of its sovereign rights or supersede international law. He reiterated that Greece and Libya are natural maritime neighbors, whereas Turkey and Libya do not share common coastlines, making their attempt to establish a diagonal boundary legally unfounded.

Shortly after the UN address, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech in Ankara for Republic Day. Without explicitly naming Greece, he declared Turkey's determination to "neutralize" anyone who interferes with the country's goals. This statement is widely perceived as a response to the Greek position articulated at the United Nations, signaling ongoing regional tensions regarding maritime sovereignty in the Mediterranean.