Relationship dossier
Greece
Libya
Relationship assessment
Humanitarian engagement alongside recurring friction over maritime claims and Libya’s agreement with Turkey.
Greece toward Libya
-15Greece sent humanitarian assistance after the 2023 Derna floods. In 2019, Greece expelled Libya’s ambassador after Libya’s agreement with Turkey on maritime boundaries, reflecting serious Greek objections to the deal.
Libya toward Greece
-15In 2019, Libya’s Government of National Accord signed a maritime boundaries agreement with Turkey that Greece strongly contested. Libya’s divided political institutions and differing positions complicate assessment of government policy toward Greece.
Overall relationship
-10The relationship combines diplomatic and humanitarian engagement with recurring tension over maritime claims. Greece’s aid after the Derna floods was a concrete cooperative action, while the 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime agreement and Greece’s expulsion of Libya’s ambassador marked a serious diplomatic rupture. Political division within Libya makes the durability and scope of bilateral engagement difficult to characterize.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Greece and Libya have maintained diplomatic engagement, and Greece sent humanitarian assistance to Libya after the 2023 Derna floods. Relations have also faced significant friction over maritime boundaries and Libya’s 2019 maritime agreement with Turkey. Greece expelled Libya’s ambassador in 2019 in response to that agreement; the scope and continuity of cooperation across Libya’s divided political institutions remain unclear.
Areas of tension
- Greece’s objections to the 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime boundaries agreement and its implications for Greek maritime claims.
Key developments
Libya’s Government of National Accord signed a maritime boundaries agreement with Turkey, which Greece contested; Greece subsequently expelled Libya’s ambassador.
Greece sent humanitarian assistance to Libya following the Derna floods.
Major uncertainties
- The extent of Greece’s practical cooperation with Libya’s competing political authorities is unclear.
- The status and implementation of bilateral maritime arrangements remain uncertain.