Article: https://www.reuters.com/article/greece-libya/update-1-greek-pm-agrees-to-talks-with-libya-on-maritime-zones-idUSL1N2M70MZ
Analysis:
Following a joint meeting, Greece and Libya have agreed to hold discussions to designate maritime zones in the Mediterranean. The Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, made a statement after their meeting saying the discussions had been reinstated to try to eliminate the current maritime zones. Mitsotakis also said he aims to reset their relationship with Libya that he feels were worsened by the Tripoli government’s signing of the maritime accord with Turkey in 2019.
Mitsotakis’ expressed distaste of the maritime accord is likely heightened as Turkey is Greece’s regional rival. This issue has been an added source of tension between Greece and Turkey. These two NATO members were close to armed conflict last year due to territorial and energy issues in the eastern Mediterranean. NATO is supposed to hold the role of an international governmental organization that is meant to be reciprocal and mutually beneficial among the member states. The conflict between these two members demonstrates how fragile NATO may be becoming. There is supposed to be a conversation between Turkey and Greece soon to discuss these boundaries as well.
From class, this is an interesting application of international institutions. A liberal perspective would expect that facilitated cooperation would keep NATO members interdependent; one could argue that as the conflict did not become a full-scale war therefore this IGO did its job. Still, a claim could be made that the conflict shouldn’t have escalated to the extent that it did within such a institution.
Overall, the reason this meeting between Greece and Libya is to be monitored is there could be a shift in regional power. There also may be added hostility between Greece and Turkey with Libya in the middle in the years to come due to these maritime zones. As Greece and Turkey hold a conversation, it will also be important to watch for signs of escalation.