Greece’s top diplomat Giorgos Gerapetritis met with Libyan counterpart Taher al-Baour [Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP via Getty Images]
The Greek and Libyan foreign ministers held talks on migration in Tripoli on Monday, a Libyan government statement said, following an influx of migrants on the European country’s shores in recent months.
Greece’s top diplomat Giorgos Gerapetritis met with Libyan counterpart Taher al-Baour, whose ministry said they agreed to adopt a “global approach based on burden-sharing” and security cooperation.
Migrants regularly attempt the perilous crossing from Libya to the Greek island of Crete, a gateway to the European Union.
At the end of March, 22 people died while adrift in the Mediterranean Sea after leaving from Libya and their bodies were thrown overboard, according to survivors who were rescued off Crete.
Earlier this month, Greek authorities said they had rescued more than 300 migrants over a couple of days.
The two ministers also discussed a long-running dispute between Greece and Libya’s UN-recognised government over their respective exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean.
The statement from al-Baour’s ministry said the pair reaffirmed “their commitment to continuing a constructive dialogue in a positive spirit, based on the rules of international law”.
Libya angered Greece in 2019 by signing a maritime delimitation agreement with Turkey, which Athens argues disregards the rights of Greek islands, including Crete.
The North African country is still plagued by division and instability after years of unrest following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
It remains divided between the UN-recognised government in the west and its eastern rival, backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Gerapetritis also discussed migration with Haftar in Benghazi last month.
