The leaders of Cyprus and Egypt called for blocking the implementation of the Turkish-Libyan memorandum

The possibilities for the practical implementation of the memorandum of understanding on the issue of marine zones, which Ankara and Tripoli signed, should be blocked.  This conclusion was reached by the President of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiadis and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a telephone conversation between them on Thursday, which was reported by the official representative of the Cypriot government Kiriyakos Kushos.

 According to the latter, al-Sisi condemned the memorandum, saying that this document does not have legal status, and agreed with Anastasiadis that "all necessary measures should be taken to stop the implementation of the provisions of the illegal agreement."

 According to Kushos, the President of Egypt also told the head of Cyprus that a possible Turkish military presence in Libya would destabilize the region.  Anastasiadis and Al-Sisi also agreed that the foreign ministers of the three allied countries - Cyprus, Egypt and Greece - should coordinate their actions.

 Nicosia had previously indicated its extremely negative attitude towards the Turkish-Libyan memorandum.  Earlier this month, the Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Hristodulidis said that this document is not only devoid of a legal basis, but also represents "Turkey’s last attempt to disrupt rule-based order and cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean."

 An agreement on military cooperation between Turkey and the Government of National Accord of Libya was signed in Istanbul on November 28, which provides for the training, preparation, structuring of the legal base, as well as strengthening relations between the military of the two countries.  A memorandum of understanding between Turkey and Libya on maritime zones was also signed, provoking a sharp reaction from Athens, who after that declared the ambassador of Libya to Greece persona non grata.  According to the Greek Foreign Ministry, a document that contains the coordinates for the actual delineation of the sea shelf and the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Turkey and Libya, takes part of the shelf and EEZ from those Greek islands that are located between Turkey and Libya.