The government is celebrating Chevron's expression of interest in the plots in Southern Crete, and several government officials are even talking about recognition of the Greek EEZ by the Americans.
It is significant that a large American company is showing interest in the area south of Crete, although – assuming all goes well – it will take at least six years for serious exploration activities to begin there, which of course also depends on estimates of whether there will be exploitable quantities of natural gas.
But they are making a major mistake in the government: Just because Chevron has expressed interest in plots disputed by Libya does not mean that this dispute has been resolved. We simply hope that, when and if exploration begins in this area, there will be no obstruction of an American company.
On the contrary, however, it could also turn the other way around: In order for the American company not to risk its interests, Washington is more likely to pressure Athens into a compromise with Libya, which of course would be to partially satisfy Tripoli's pursuit. After all, the EEZ is defined based on an agreement with the other coastal state and not with a company.
Government officials also use Chevron's argument to argue that Greece has effectively nullified the Turkish-Libyan memorandum. These plots of land, first of all, have been marked out since 2011-2013, long before the Turkish-Libyan memorandum.
The fact that Greece has taken unilateral actions against libya Is the right move and this should be acknowledged by the Government. however, The "elephant in the room" remains the issue of laying the Cyprus-Crete Interconnection Cable.
Because, ultimately, it is not only the Turkish-Libyan memorandum and its resilience, despite Greek reactions, that is judged, but also the Greek-Egyptian Agreement on the EEZ itself. Therefore, if we want to talk about abolishing the Turkish-Libyan memorandum, let's look east of Crete and towards the cable.
Himara.gr on Google News
