By Libya Observer,
Greece has announced the deployment of three warships in the Eastern Mediterranean between Turkey and Libya, citing the need to stop the flow of migrants coming from Libya.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday that his country had sent warships with the aim of halting the influx of migrants from Libya, according to Turkish outlet “Zaman.”
Speaking upon his arrival at the European Union summit, Mitsotakis declared that the Greek warships would be dispatched to the area to force human smuggling boats to turn back off the Libyan coast.
However, this was not the only reason for sending the warships. In the final statement of the summit held in Brussels on Thursday, special attention was given to the memorandum of understanding on maritime zones between Turkey and Libya.
The statement emphasized the need for closer cooperation between the European Union and Libya in the area of migration management.
The European Council also deemed the maritime memorandum of understanding signed between Turkey and Libya as “violating the sovereign rights of third states,” and stressed that the memorandum does not comply with the law of the sea and cannot have legal consequences for third countries.
Athens expressed satisfaction with the inclusion of criticism against the Turkey-Libya memorandum in the summit statement.
Turkey considered the EU’s remarks on the maritime agreement signed between Tripoli and Ankara in 2019 as unhelpful to peace and regional stability.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said in a statement responding to a question on the European Council conclusions: “The conclusions adopted by the European Council on 28 June 2025 demonstrate Greece’s and the Greek Cypriots’ insistence on imposing their maximalist demands on the EU, which are contrary to international law and the principle of equity.”
