France, Egypt and Greece condemn as 'illegal' Turkiye's gas and maritime deal with Libya

France, Egypt, and Greece said a deal allowing Turkish hydrocarbon exploration in Libya’s Mediterranean waters was “illegal”, Reuters reports.

According to the report, Foreign Ministers of Egypt and Greece met Sunday, in Cairo following the controversial maritime and gas deals that their shared rival, Turkiye, signed with a Libyan leader.

At a joint news conference, Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, said talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shukry, focused on the Memorandums of Understanding between Turkiye and Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the leader of one of two competing governments in divided Libya.

He said such agreements were a threat to regional stability.

Last week, at a joint press conference with Tripoli-based Government counterpart, Najla El-Manqoush, Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, announced the signing of a “Memorandum of Understanding for oil and gas exploration in territorial waters and on Libyan territory by joint Turkish-Libyan companies.”

The dispute between Egypt and Greece on one side, and Turkiye on the other, dates back to November 2019.

In November 2019, Turkiye signed maritime boundaries deal with Libya, amid an exploration row.

READ: Turkey signs maritime boundaries deal with Libya amid exploration row