Athens, 2 July 2021

President of Hellenic Parliament meets with Speaker of House of Representatives of State of Libya

The President of the Hellenic Parliament Constantine Tassoulas met today with the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Libya Agila Saleh Issa, who visited the Hellenic Parliament. Mr. Tassoulas expressed his “well-founded optimism” that Libya will “leave behind, definitively, the period of civil strife that traumatised it, as well as the side-effects of that period, such as the illegal MoU on maritime zones between Turkey and Libya, which infringes on international law, the sovereignty of Greece and other countries and the Shkirat Agreement and on everything that allows our countries to have a credible and peaceful relationship”.

“Your homeland has been preparing for free and fair elections on the 24^th of December. Elections which all of us who care about peace and international law in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean wish to be held as planned, so that the people of Libya may decide their future in a sovereign and unimpeded manner”, said Mr. Tassoulas.

“The crisis in Libya can be resolved by holding presidential and parliamentary elections on the 24^th of December” underlined the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Libya and emphasised:

“We look forward to Greece’s stance in support of this path and we do not listen to any voice seeking to hinder the peaceful transition of power. Whoever wishes to get to power must go to the polls. And there must be a clear position against those who wish to disrupt the elections and such an act must be considered a crime if they are not held on the designated date, which will lead Libya back to where it was before”.

The full statements of the President of the Hellenic Parliament and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Libya are as follows:

The President of the Hellenic Parliament: "Your Excellency Mr. Aglia Saleh Issa, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Libya and dear friend, I welcome you and your honourable delegation for the second time in a year and a half at the Hellenic Parliament. And I welcome you with an even greater and more well-founded optimism for the future of Libya than a year and a half ago.

Following the ceasefire and since the establishment of a new interim executive, the new interim government, which on the 10^th of March in Sirte, you with your political wisdom and the Parliament of Libya, legitimized, your homeland has been preparing for free and fair elections on the 24^th of December. Elections which all of us who care about peace and international law in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean wish to be held as planned, so that the people of Libya may decide their future in a sovereign and unimpeded manner. And leave behind, definitively, the period of civil strife that traumatised your country, as well as the side-effects of that period, such as the illegal MoU on maritime zones between Turkey and Libya, which infringes on international law and the sovereignty of Greece and other countries and the Shkirat Agreement and on everything that allows our countries to have a credible and peaceful relationship.

Thanks to you, as of December 2019 the Hellenic Parliament has been fully updated on Libya and your very correct views on the illegal agreement between Turkey and Libya, which bears no legitimacy whatsoever. And thanks to you, since that time and until today, developments in your country have finally been moving towards a normality that we must safeguard. And as I am certain you concluded from your meeting with the Foreign Minister, Mr. Dendias, increasingly more actors in the international arena recognise the constructive role that you play in ensuring this normality in Libya and this is the role, Mr. Speaker, that we all look forward to. And today, in our meeting, we will look at ways to further strengthen the relations between our two Parliaments, so that our countries and our Parliaments may walk peacefully and creatively towards a common future, that Libya is primarily deserving of, having gone through so much hardship, and that Greece wishes to play a very positive role in.

Summing up, just as the visit by the Greek Prime Minister, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Libya, the visit by the President of Libya a few days later, in April, here in Athens, so too your current visit here guarantees that our relations are not just improving, but will also serve as a model for many other bilateral relations in the wider region. With these thoughts allow me, Mr. Speaker, to welcome you and your delegation once again to the Hellenic Parliament."

The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Libya: "On behalf of myself and the accompanying delegation, I wish to warmly thank you for the warm welcome and hospitality. And I send my greetings to our friends, the Greek people, and thank H.E. the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece for his enormous efforts to resolve the crisis in Libya.

As I mentioned, we are here on a short visit between two friendly neighbouring countries, however, the relations between the two cultures, of Greece and Libya, are timeless and we have many examples that one can witness in Libya, in the region of Cyrenaica, in Tokra and in Susah (Apollonia). And when, God willing, you visit Libya, you will witness the monuments of this ancient civilisation, proof that the Mediterranean was a lake of security and peace for travellers, for traders. However, efforts made by some to seize the property of other countries, stigmatise and destabilize the situation in the Mediterranean. There’s a big difference between those who protect and defend the homeland and their rights in life and those who try to seize the goods that belong to other countries. We reject the presence of any foreign mercenaries and troops in our homeland. The Libyan people are proud and courageous, with an unbending will and they will demand the prosecution of these troops. 

Regarding the agreement that Sarraj signed with the Turks, he is in no position to enter into such agreements, especially if one takes into account that the House of Representatives did not ratify this agreement, which it considered null and void. Therefore, we confirm that this agreement was of no consequence to the legislative power in Libya and as the honourable President mentioned, we have set up a new executive branch consisting of the President of the Presidential Council and two Vice-Presidents, and a government of national unity comprising all regions of Libya. We asked this government to ensure all needs of the Libyan people are met and to act in the direction of national reconciliation and for the preparation of elections. Someone might wonder what the constitutional basis on which the elections will be held is, but according to the constitutional declaration, which is considered a Constitution until it can be revised or annulled, it is the people who elect the country’s president, through direct suffrage. At the Parliament we have studied the law regarding the election of the President and we are to do a second reading of this law until it is published, so these foreign interventions making the claim that there is no constitutional basis only seek to delay elections and establish anarchy. And I believe that the crisis in Libya can be resolved by holding presidential and parliamentary elections on the 24^th of December. The elected President through the will of the Libyan people is the one who can bring together the powers and the institutions of the state, who can unify the military institution and achieve national reconciliation between all Libyans.

We look forward to Greece’s stance in support of this direction and we do not listen to any voice seeking to hinder the peaceful transition of power. Whoever wishes to get to power must go to the polls. And there must be a clear position against those who wish to disrupt the elections and such an act must be considered a crime if they are not held on the designated date, which will lead Libya back to where it was before. We insist on a ceasefire. No new war must break out between Libyans. We also insist on the removal of all foreign forces from our homeland and we will not permit the existence of military bases or troops in Libya.  

Once again I warmly thank you, Mr. President."

Immediately after the statements followed a ceremonial exchange of gifts. Mr. Tassoulas offered his Libyan counterpart a case with 8 silver coins depicting 8 territorial expansions of the Greek state, from 1830 to 1947. “I present you, Mr. Speaker, with this historical memento by telling you that for us today border expansion is good cooperation with other countries, as you described was the case in the past in the peaceful and friendly Mediterranean. We must apply it again”.

For his part, Mr. Agila Saleh Issa presented the President of the Hellenic Parliament with a tray bearing the emblem of the House of Representatives of the State of Libya, “the only elected legislative power, so far, in Libya”, as he characteristically said, “as proof of the strengthening of the friendship between the two parliaments and the two peoples”. He also informed Mr. Tassoulas that a Libya – Greece parliamentary friendship group has already been formed.

Present at the meeting from the Greek side were the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolaos Dendias, the Chairman of the Standing Committee  on National Defence and Foreign Affairs Konstantinos Gioulekas, the Chairman of the Greece – Libya parliamentary Friendship Group Georgios Koumoutsakos, the Secretary General of the Parliament Georgios Mylonakis, the Diplomatic Advisor of the President of the Parliament Ambassador Constantine Economides, as well as Ambassadors Christodoulos Lazaris, Special Envoy of the Foreign Ministry on Libya and Ioannis Tsaoussis, from the Diplomatic Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

After the talks, Mr. Tassoulas guided his Libyan counterpart around the Parliament’s exhibition “Beholding Liberty! At the Hellenic Parliament, two centuries later”.

Further meetings were held between the Chairman of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Parliament Konstantinos Gioulekas and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of Libyan Representatives Youssif Ibrahim M. Agouri, as well as the Chairman of the Defence and National Security Committee of the Council of Libyan Representatives Talal A.M. Elmaihoub, while the Chairman of the Greece – Libya Friendship Group Georgios Koumoutsakos met with the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of Libyan Representatives Youssif Ibrahim M. Agouri.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 High resolution images







Back