ELAS lists six diplomatic blunders by the Mitsotakis government over the Turkey-Libya deal

According to ELAS, the Mitsotakis cabinet ignored Libya’s August 2019 appeal to revive negotiations on the exclusive economic zone, and later dismissed the prospect of delimiting the Turkey-Libya border. After the memorandum’s signing, the government did not activate EU sanctions that had been secured months earlier in cooperation with the Cypriot Republic, missing a strategic opportunity. ELAS counted twenty-four high-level meetings, a presidential visit and talks with Libyan leader Khalifa Haftar as ineffective, noting that only the expulsion of the Libyan ambassador was achieved.

A commercial delegation to Benghazi, led by Haris Theoharis, yielded no results, and five Greek soldiers and aid workers were killed during a humanitarian mission, underscoring Greece’s limited regional influence. The alliance also highlighted the shift of key allies such as the United States, which moved from condemning the memorandum to urging its implementation, while France remains silent. Finally, ELAS accused the government of minimizing the significance of the Libyan parliament’s ratification, despite the deal’s lack of legal effect.