Greece, Cyprus and Israel reject Turkish-Libyan memorandum as violating third-state rights

Joint position in Athens

Heads of defence policy and other senior officials from the defence ministries of Greece, Cyprus and Israel met in Athens on Thursday, 5 November 2026. The trilateral meeting focused on strengthening defence cooperation and on shared security challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean. The three sides used it to restate a common objection to the memorandum between Turkey and Libya, which they said violates the sovereign rights of third states and disregards international rules on maritime jurisdiction. In their joint statement they added that the memorandum cannot produce legal effects for third countries. The ministries said the three countries reaffirmed their shared commitment to peace, stability, security and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider region.

“The three sides reaffirmed that defence cooperation is a key pillar of the trilateral partnership.”

The memorandum and the Republic of Cyprus

The memorandum sits at the centre of the statement, and the sides stressed the need to respect the law of the sea as reflected in customary international law. Separately, the three ministries reaffirmed their support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, citing relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and international law. They also said no country in the region should be used as a launching pad for actions that threaten regional security, and they called for deterring activities that undermine stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. Some coverage linked the message to ongoing research for the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) electricity link, a connection the joint statement itself does not mention. The statement also repeats the leaders' invitation to other partners with shared views to join the trilateral framework.

Defence industry and maritime security

A significant part of the talks dealt with maritime security and the protection of critical infrastructure in the Eastern Mediterranean, at a time of rising challenges to energy routes and sea transport. The sides described energy cooperation as a key factor of regional stability and resilience, and they opposed any attempt to obstruct it. On defence industry, they discussed partnerships between their defence industries, joint development and production of defence systems, and stronger technological cooperation. They also examined setting up a trilateral working group on the defence industry, aimed at pooling collective capabilities, improving interoperability and widening the industrial base of the partnership. The sides agreed to step up coordination against shared threats, including terrorism, the spread of advanced weapons systems and destabilising activities by state and non-state actors.

Background and timeline

The current cooperation rests on a Joint Declaration adopted at a leaders' summit in Jerusalem on 22 December 2025. The Libyan House of Representatives ratified the Turkey-Libya memorandum on 20 October 2026, a date the three ministries did not link to a specific step in their statement. The Athens meeting followed roughly two weeks later, on 5 November. The sequence of these milestones is shown below.

The statement did not announce a timetable for the working group or for any follow-up meeting, so the next concrete steps remain unclear from the published texts.