The agreement between Lebanon and Israel is an example and shows that the delimitation of maritime zones is possible in every case but with one key condition, that of respect for international law and the rules of dialogue, stated Greek Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias in joint statements with his Lebanese counterpart Abdullah Bou Habib, following their meeting on Friday in Athens.
He reiterated that this agreement was an example of a peaceful settlement of differences and urged other countries to follow this example.
“This development paves the way for the adaptation of the equivalent agreement between Lebanon and Cyprus, for which the deliberations have already begun,” Dendias underlined.
Addressing his Lebanese counterpart, Dendias congratulated him for the ‘historic agreement’ on the delimitation of the maritime zones between Lebanon and Israel, which was brokered by the US, and especially by the special envoy for international energy issue Amos Hochstein. He also pointed out that Greece was the first country to welcome this agreement as a key factor for the stabilization of the situation in the Middle East.
Dendias said that Greece is looking forward to the delimitation of the EEZ with Libya when an elected government exists in that country. “This would create another triangle of stability: Greece, Egypt, Libya, in the Eastern Mediterranean. We would also wish for this example to extend to our neighbor Turkey. We hope to be in position, after the elections in Turkey, to negotiate with Turkey the only bilateral difference [between the two countries], always according to the international law of the sea”.
On Greek-Lebanese bilateral relations, Dendias said that relations with Lebanon have always had a huge importance and he expressed the will for deeper cooperation, while he referred to the memorandums of understanding signed on Friday with his Lebanese counterpart on the abolition of entry visas for holders of diplomatic and service passports and a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of Diplomatic Education.
Dendias said that Grece will continue to stand by the people of Lebanon, reminding that Greece was the first country that responded after the recent explosion at the port of Beirut, and he offered assurances that Greece will continue to show solidarity with the people of Lebanon.
He also underlined that Greece is looking forward to a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Lebanon.
During their meeting, the two ministers discussed the challenges facing the international community in Europe, the Middle East as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On his part Abdullah Bou Habib briefed Dendias on the huge difficulties that Lebanon is facing due to the millions of displaced Syrians hosted in its territory. Particularly, they discussed the need to deal with this phenomenon with the EU’s support. Dendias pledged to do whatever is possible so that the Lebanese foreign minister is invited to a breakfast with the EU foreign ministers, during which he will be able to clearly outline the challenges his country is facing, as well as the solutions that he proposes.
Concluding, Dendias underlined that the Lebanese Foreign Minister’s visit to Greece completes a round of ten bilateral meetings in the last six days.
