Greek Foreign Minister Heads to Tripoli for Maritime and Energy Talks in Major Diplomatic Push

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis arrives in Tripoli Monday for high-level talks with Libya's Government of National Unity, in Athens' most direct diplomatic engagement with the Libyan capital in years.

Mr. Gerapetritis will hold separate meetings with Presidential Council President Mohamed Al Menfi and Prime Minister

At the top of the agenda is the disputed 2019 maritime memorandum between Tripoli and Ankara, which Greece considers illegal under international law because it disregards the continental shelf rights of Greek islands including Crete.

Athens has long sought to neutralize the agreement, and Mr. Gerapetritis' willingness to engage on energy cooperation signals a shift toward technical dialogue as a way of building the trust needed for eventual maritime delimitation talks.

Migration is also on the table.

With vessels departing from eastern Libya increasingly making landfall on Crete, Greece is pushing for stronger coast guard cooperation and intelligence sharing to disrupt smuggling networks operating along that route.

The visit follows recent Greek diplomatic outreach in eastern Libya — part of a deliberate dual-track strategy to maintain influence across a country that remains politically divided.

A formal maritime boundary agreement is not imminent given Libya's internal instability.

But Mr. Gerapetritis' presence in Tripoli signals that Athens has decided direct engagement, however complicated, serves Greek interests better than standing on the sidelines.

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Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis arrives in Tripoli Monday for high-level talks with Libya's Government of National Unity, in Athens' most direct diplomatic engagement with the Libyan capital in years.

Mr. Gerapetritis will hold separate meetings with Presidential Council President Mohamed Al Menfi and Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, as well as acting Foreign Minister Al Taher Salem Al Baour and acting Oil Minister Khalifa Rajab Abdulsadek.

At the top of the agenda is the disputed 2019 maritime memorandum between Tripoli and Ankara, which Greece considers illegal under international law because it disregards the continental shelf rights of Greek islands including Crete.

Athens has long sought to neutralize the agreement, and Mr. Gerapetritis' willingness to engage on energy cooperation signals a shift toward technical dialogue as a way of building the trust needed for eventual maritime delimitation talks.

Migration is also on the table.

With vessels departing from eastern Libya increasingly making landfall on Crete, Greece is pushing for stronger coast guard cooperation and intelligence sharing to disrupt smuggling networks operating along that route.

The visit follows recent Greek diplomatic outreach in eastern Libya — part of a deliberate dual-track strategy to maintain influence across a country that remains politically divided.

A formal maritime boundary agreement is not imminent given Libya's internal instability.

But Mr. Gerapetritis' presence in Tripoli signals that Athens has decided direct engagement, however complicated, serves Greek interests better than standing on the sidelines.

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