Athens was caught off guard by the latest turn in the Turkey-Libya memorandum, though it should not have been. Through the ratification of an illegal agreement by Libya’s parliament, elected in 2014, Turkey is seeking to send many messages. The first and foremost is that Ankara has systematically and methodically taken control of Libya, and is using that control to serve its own strategic interests.
The Turkey-Libya memorandum is illegal, and everyone except Turkey and Benghazi treats it as such. It is a Turkish fabrication that bolsters the occupying power’s designs. It is a fabrication that bolsters its policy of challenging and creating grey zones across the region.
It is obvious that these moves by Ankara create a fait accompli that the Greek side will have to confront. Among other things, the so-called memorandum ignores entirely the effect of Crete and the Dodecanese. That is why Athens must respond immediately. It must go ahead and extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles south and west of Crete. The time for tolerance is over.
What this development confirms is that Turkey controls developments in Libya and, to a large extent, what happens on the ground. It has the upper hand in a country racked by serious internal problems.
Clearly, we should not view this development in isolation. It has to be set alongside the other moves Turkey is making in the Eastern Mediterranean. Nor is it unconnected to the plans of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus in the region. On the very day the ratification of the illegal memorandum was announced, and not by coincidence, the Turkish authorities issued a NAVTEX concerning the EMC data cable off Cyprus. The move is also linked to the relaunch of the Crete-Cyprus electricity interconnector project.
A response from Greece, which has the full backing of the European Union, should therefore be expected. One factor in all this is how far the EU can put pressure on eastern Libya, by cutting off the funding that goes to Benghazi for managing migration.
