Letter by the head of Greek delegation to the NATO PA

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MARIETTA GIANNAKOU
MEMBER OF THE HELLENIC PARLIAMENT – NEA DΕMOKRATIA
Athens, 2nd
of April 2020
Dear President, Dear Colleagues,
I hope my letter finds you, your families and your fellow citizens in good health and
spirit. The world is facing an unprecedented health, economic and social crisis. The
invisible enemy “coronavirus”, continues to ruthlessly strike the global community,
knowing no borders and limits. It is then, under these circumstances, for all of us to show
responsibility, solidarity and unity and take actions, in order to combat this enemy and
overcome this terrible situation.
At the same time, we can continue our work as Parliamentarians and
communicate via all means of technology, staying at home and following all measures
taken by our governments for protecting each other and ourselves, supporting each
other, showing courage and strength and hoping that soon we will be all back, healthy
and strong.
Consequently, I take this opportunity to share with you some facts regarding the
so – called “Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Turkey and the
Government of National Accord – State of Libya on delimitation of the maritime
jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean ”, which was signed by the two sides in Istanbul
on 27th
of November 2019. As you may be aware of, during the Joint meetings of NATO
PA in Brussels last February, under the presidency of the Hon. Lord Campbell, we,
members of the Hellenic delegation, came up with un unfortunate event, I want to believe
an unfortunate misunderstanding, that did not allow us continuously and unjustifiably, to
speak and present our points.
In this context, I would like to underline upfront that this agreement was concluded
in bad faith and in violation of the rules of the International Law of the Sea on maritime
delimitation because, first and foremost, Turkey and Libya have neither overlapping
NATO''s Parlamentariske Forsamling 2019-20
NPA Alm.del - Bilag 30
Offentligt
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maritime zones nor common boundaries and consequently, there is no legal basis to
lawfully conclude a maritime delimitation agreement.
Likewise, the agreement disregards the presence of the Greek islands in that
maritime area, including the island of Crete, and violates their right to generate maritime
zones, as any land territory, as Article 21 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea, clearly stipulates.
Furthermore, the boundaries of the purported “continental shelf and exclusive
economic zone”, as they are defined in the text of this agreement, are fictitious, unlawful,
arbitrary and provocative and openly infringe on Greece’s sovereign rights in that
maritime area, thus seriously endangering regional peace and stability.
What is also striking in the said agreement is that, in spite of the declared position
of Turkey that Greek islands in the Eastern Mediterranean have no weight for the
delimitation of the maritime boundaries in that area, the drafters of this agreement have
used Turkish islands and rocks as base points for the construction of the purported
“equidistance line”, as stated in article 1, paragraph 3, of the said agreement and shown
in the annexes thereto. This shows the hypocritical and contradictory stance of Turkey,
concerning maritime delimitation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In addition, this agreement is null and void, since it was not endorsed by the
House of Representatives of Libya, as required by Article 8, paragraph 2 (D of the Libyan
Political Agreement of 2015, approved by the United Nations Security Council through
Resolution 2259 of 2015). Likewise, this agreement was unequivocally rejected by the
President of the House of Representatives of Libya, Aquila Saleh Issa, in a letter sent to
the United Nations Secretary General.
The Greek Government has repeatedly expressed its strong opposition to the
unlawful delimitation aimed at by the above agreement, which illegally overlaps on zones
of legitimate and exclusive Greek sovereign rights.
Let me also stress, that the European Council, has clearly stated, in its December
2019 Conclusions, that the said Memorandum infringes upon the sovereign rights of third
stated, does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal
consequences. Furthermore, several other countries condemned it outright and
expressed their concern about the destabilizing effects on the region.
On this occasion, I would like to underline once more my country’s strong
commitment to resolve any delimitation issues with neighbouring countries in the Eastern
Mediterranean by peaceful means, in good faith and in accordance with the International
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Law of the Sea. It is in that spirit, that negotiations are currently taking place between
Greece and other neighbouring states, regarding the delimitation of common maritime
boundaries.
Finally, thinking of those who lost their lives by the virus and to those who are
hospitalized and fight for their lives, I express my admiration and deep gratitude to all
people involved to the common battle. We, together, can win this war, with unity and
cooperation.
Dear President, Dear Colleague,
Please accept, the assurance of my highest consideration,
Marietta GIANNAKOU
Member of the Hellenic Parliament
Head of the Greek Delegation to the
NATO Parliamentary Assembly