Foreign Ministry spokesman Nader Zaki said on Saturday, 24 October, that Egypt is working with international law experts to compile a comprehensive legal dossier on the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum. Speaking on the programme Al-Hekaya, hosted by Amr Adib on MBC Masr, Zaki stated that Egypt’s response is not limited to either accepting the situation or escalating it. He said Cairo has kept in direct contact with both the Turkish and Libyan sides over the previous 24 hours. The ministry maintains that the 2019 memorandum, which Libya’s eastern-based parliament ratified on 20 October, infringes on Egypt’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. Zaki said Egypt’s contacts also extend to Cyprus, Greece, the European Union and the wider international community, because the dispute affects other Mediterranean states. He explained that Egypt has held since 2019 that the memorandum is null and carries no legal effect, and he noted that Greece, Cyprus and the European Union take the same position. According to Zaki, affected states can take legal action and demand a halt to drilling and exploration work, including by seeking urgent rulings that would stop such activity until the dispute is…
