NEWS CENTER / The approval of the maritime jurisdiction agreement between Türkiye and Libya, which Greece tried to prevent, by the Libyan House of Representatives continues to create an earthquake in Athens.
Greek Vice Admiral Ioannis Egolfopoulos argued in a live broadcast on Action 24 that the Athens administration could not foresee the process and did not take the necessary steps. Criticizing Greece for merely making a statement regarding the developments, Ioannis said that the government should have taken action much earlier.
'SOMETHING WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN'
Arguing that the developments could be foreseen in advance, the retired vice admiral stated that the necessary steps were not taken despite the signals Greece had and said:
"We had so many signs that something was about to happen. First of all, the speaker of the parliament changed. Mrs. Bakoyannis had already said, 'Friends, something is about to happen here' and made statements. Egypt came forward and half-heartedly said, 'You know, something is wrong here' and contacted Haftar. The other day, Netanyahu was in contact with Haftar. These were known things."
Ioannis argued that these developments were signs that should be evaluated in advance for the Athenian administration. Reacting to Greece's lack of diplomatic initiatives, the retired vice admiral evaluated what happened as a result of the country's own attitude.
'WE DESERVE THIS FATE, NO ONE MOVED AN AFFAIR'
Arguing that Athens did not hold diplomatic contacts on time, Ioannis said that the government should follow a more active policy regarding Libya.
Retired vice admiral stated that Greece should use its relations with both the east and west of Libya to conduct negotiations on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas and said, "We deserve this fate, but no one moved. The government had to get up and go to Libya. They say, 'We have good relations with both parties and we are negotiating to delimit the maritime areas'. There are concrete decisions. He should have left here 20 days ago and gone to Europe. He should have made other moves."
Ioannis argued that it was not enough for Greece to make a statement only after the developments and emphasized that diplomatic initiatives should be carried out earlier.
'What happened to us is much worse'
The retired vice admiral, who also brought up the visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, questioned the results of the contacts with Washington. Stating that Rubio was in the region a week ago, Ioannis stated that it should be clarified whether Greece conveyed the issue to the US side.
Ioannis said, "Rubio came. He was here a week ago. Did they say anything to him? If they did and they couldn't make him listen, what happened to us is much worse."
'WE ARE SITTING WITH OUR EYES CLOSED'
Criticizing Greece for issuing only diplomatic statements of objection to the developments, Ioannis also commented on Turkey's attitude towards maritime jurisdictions.
"We cannot sit here with our eyes closed and say, 'We made a statement, we find it unacceptable.' What is unacceptable? The Turks limiting us and saying, 'I want it this way'?" Ioannis argued that the Athens administration should take more concrete steps.
'THEY SOLD US'
Finally, the retired vice admiral also questioned his country's intelligence and diplomacy capacity, arguing that Greece could not get the results it expected despite the steps it took in its relations with Libya.
"We sent ships to Libya, we donated patrol boats, but they sold us out. Who is doing what in our country? Didn't they have intelligence? A whole country feels humiliated. People here have no idea about the world. Suddenly we hear someone say, 'We are in shock'. What are you surprised about?" Using his statements, Ioannis claimed that the Greek administration was caught unprepared for the developments.
