Libya Rejects Egypt's Unilateral Demarcation of Maritime Borders

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi instructed his government to demarcate the country’s western maritime borders last week, unilaterally naming coordinates for the disputed borders.

Libya has blasted its neighbor's decision to unilaterally demarcate the maritime borders between the two countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Libyan government of national unity (GNU) rejected the Egyptian decision, with the Foreign Ministry saying that it was unfair and a violation of Libyan territorial waters and the principles of good faith. Tripoli also argued that such a move contradicts Egypt’s claims to respect Libyan sovereignty.

The ministry urged the Egyptian government to launch bilateral talks on maritime borders in a way that guarantees the interests of the two countries.

“Egyptian-Libyan maritime borders' demarcation should be finalized through negotiations that respect the principle of equality,” the GNU said in a statement on Friday.

The Libyan provisional government noted that the dispute over the maritime borders' demarcation could be referred to the International Court of Justice.

On December 11, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued a decree defining the country's western maritime borders in the Mediterranean. The text of the decision, published in Egypt’s Official Gazette, included a list of coordinates for the borders.

In addition, the president’s order instructed the Egyptian government to send a notification to the secretary-general of the United Nations about the decision and the specified coordinates.