Amid intense political clashes and criticism over foreign policy following Turkey’s moves in the Aegean Sea with the announcement of maritime parks and the trilateral meeting in Constantinople between Erdogan, Meloni and Dmeyimba, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives in our country tomorrow, Wednesday, to meet with Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis.
Read: Diplomatic fever over maritime zones: Libya, Turkey and Egypt at the center of Gerapetritis’ agenda
Gerapetritis & Abdelatty meeting: Turkey, Libya, zone delimitation, Sinai Monastery on the table
This is the first meeting of the Greek Foreign Minister with his counterpart following Turkey’s latest moves. All issues are expected to be on the table in bilateral discussions, with the most important being the provocative moves by Libya and Turkey in the South Mediterranean. While Athens does not expect any tangible results from these discussions, it nonetheless seeks to establish a framework for common coordination against the Turkish-Libyan memorandum and Libya’s provocations with maritime zone demarcations that overlap the sovereignty of both Greece and Egypt.
Diplomatic sources maintain that despite the common targeting of Athens and Cairo by Libya, there will be no joint reaction from the two countries. However, initial discussions for a future joint response by the two countries against Turkey’s tactics are expected. As international relations expert Alexandros Despotopoulos tells parapolitika.gr, “We may possibly at some point be able to meet with Egypt and Cyprus to appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. And there pressure would inevitably be applied for Turkey to follow suit. The Egyptians have shown willingness so far, not because they love us – there are no loves in national relations – but because Greece has supported Egypt in various ways through the European Union and independently, and also because we have the same conception regarding energy in the Mediterranean, where we have the quadrilateral cooperation that includes Egypt along with Israel and Cyprus. So we can be hopeful. Egypt remains a key country for completing the delimitation of maritime zones in the Southeast Mediterranean involving Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, and our interests largely coincide. It’s one of the countries we can hope to advance further with because our interests largely coincide and we have coordinated positively so far.”
Saint Catherine’s Monastery of Sinai issue also on the agenda
Among the issues expected to be discussed in tomorrow’s meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Greece and Egypt is the issue of Saint Catherine’s Monastery of Sinai. The responses the Greek side receives will reveal the extent of impact from the attempt to dethrone Archbishop Damian by the monks, at a time when there were indications that the property regime might be resolved.
This issue was also discussed last Sunday when the two Foreign Ministers had a telephone conversation about the situation in Gaza. According to the announcement issued by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty once again assured Mr. Gerapetritis about preserving the religious character of Sinai Monastery, but also expressed reservations regarding the encroachment on archaeological sites, as this historic monastery space is characterized by the Egyptian government. “Abdelatty reiterated Egypt’s firm commitment to protecting religious holy sites, including Saint Catherine’s Monastery, and emphasized the state’s commitment to protecting and preserving the monastery’s sacred religious status, as well as avoiding encroachment on related archaeological sites, given their spiritual value and religious prestige,” the announcement states. As Mr. Despotopoulos maintains, “I hope and rather tend to believe there will be correction from the Egyptian side which may not have realized how big this issue is for Greece. I estimate that over time the property rights will be restored, perhaps not in their entirety with all the estates, but at least regarding the basic parts of the Monastery – the buildings and religious treasures.”
It’s worth noting that Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, before the telephone conversation he had on Sunday with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, also spoke by phone with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, with whom, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announcement, they discussed Cairo’s actions to achieve a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
