Nikos Dendias decided to make a volte face immediately after landing in Tripoli. The reason was the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the interim government of Tripoli, Naila Mangus, at the airport.
Tripoli was not initially on the program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Libya.
It was added at the last minute when Mohammed al-Menfi, chairman of the country’s presidential council, asked for a meeting.
Dendias, however, according to diplomatic sources, made it clear that it was not his intention to see anyone from the interim government of Libya whose term has expired and for Athens – as for a number of other countries – it does not have the legitimacy to sign agreements such as the recent illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum.
A position which is also adopted by Egypt, with which Greece is perfectly aligned on this specific issue.
As soon as Dendias was informed of the presence of Mangus at the airport, he decided to immediately leave for Benghazi without even getting off the government plane.
The presence of Mangus was considered according to diplomatic sources a foul as well as an attempt by the interim government to force situations.
After all, it would be paradoxical for the Foreign Minister to meet with Mangus after the signing of the recent Turkish-Libyan memorandum.
It is worth noting that the fact that the interim government of Libya does not have the right to sign international agreements such as the Turkish-Libyan memorandum and has not only been denounced by Greece and Egypt, but also by France, the USA, the EU and the UN security council.
And its mission is to lead the country to elections.
However, before the necessary permission to take off was given, there was a significant delay.
At this time, the government aircraft has landed in Benghazi and the program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues with the donation of vaccines from Greece to Libya, while a meeting with Marshal Khalifa Haftar will follow.
