This archive report was first published on 7 December 2019.
On December 7, 2019, Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias announced the expulsion of the Libyan ambassador, citing a maritime deal between Turkey and Libya that Greece deemed illegal.
The deal, signed between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the head of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, sets a maritime boundary between the two countries, which Greece claims fails to take into account the island of Crete.
Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Siala responded to the news, stating that Greece's decision was 'unacceptable' and that Libya would not have expelled Greece's ambassador if it had diplomatic representation in Libya.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis condemned the deal in a speech to parliament, calling it 'ignorant of geography and history' and stating that it had already been condemned by the US, the EU, Egypt, and Israel.
The deal has sparked tensions between Greece and Turkey, with both countries having competing interests in the eastern Mediterranean.
Libya has been mired in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, and the country has been divided between rival factions, with Turkey and Qatar supporting the GNA and Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE backing Khalifa Haftar, a military strongman in eastern Libya.
