Egyptian Press | Greece and Egypt sign an agreement on maritime borders demarcation

Defence Redefined

Published on 06/08/2020 at 14:34

Within the next few hours, Greece and Egypt will sign an agreement on the demarcation of maritime borders, writes the Egyptian website Sada Elbalad (See.news).

Citing Greek diplomatic sources, the website reports that Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, is flying to Egypt today, regarding an agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders between Egypt and Greece.

He adds that the same sources confirmed that there will be a consensus between the two sides for the signing of the agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders, stressing that after the signing of the agreement for the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between Greece and Italy, Mr. Dendias announced that he will visit Egypt for the purposes of a similar agreement.

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It is also mentioned that, according to the statements of the Greek Foreign Minister, “the delimitation of the maritime borders is achieved in accordance with International Law, through valid agreements. Not through invalid or void agreements, such as the one between Turkey and Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj based in Tripoli, and, of course, not through the unilateral submission of coordinates.”

The publication notes that Egypt is seeking to annul the agreement signed between Sarraj and Erdogan in the Eastern Mediterranean, as Cairo and Athens agreed several months ago to speed up the demarcation of the maritime borders between the two countries.

The same sources noted that the visit of the Greek Foreign Minister to Cairo takes place at a very important moment, especially after the signing of a maritime border agreement between Greece and Italy.

Meanwhile, according to the publication, Athens is trying to mobilize international support in order to stop Ankara’s ambitions in the region, especially after the controversial map with Libya and the announcement of gas exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.

From a Greek point of view, it is added, the signing of the EEZ with Italy has significant consequences for Turkey’s plans to steal oil and gas from the Greek maritime zone, hampering its efforts to fully control the Eastern Mediterranean.

Last year, the publication writes, Turkey signed an agreement with the Sarraj government in Libya for the extraction of Greek oil without recognizing Cyprus in the EEZ.

These agreements between Greece, Italy and Egypt are indeed of great importance for ensuring prosperity and cooperation among the three countries in the region rich in oil and gas, the publication concludes.