On 4 October, Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar met with the Greek Ambassador to Tripoli Ioannis Papameletiou and Consul General Athanasios Anastopoulos. The two parties discussed the latest developments on the local and international fronts, bilateral relations between Libya and Greece, and ways to enhance cooperation and coordination in various fields, in a way that serves the common interests.
It comes amid heightened Greek concern over migration flows from Libya. On 1 October, Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris said the European Union should create an emergency mechanism to temporarily suspend asylum applications during major migration crises, citing the arrival of tens of thousands of people in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July. Greece is pushing for the proposal to be included in the “European Emergency Response Framework”, a new law the European Commission is presenting in the coming months to tackle irregular arrivals and the instrumentalisation of migration at the EU’s external borders.
In a television interview this week, Thanos Plevris stated that Greece’s primary challenge regarding migration lies in the rising flow of migrants from Libya toward the island of Crete. He noted that an EU Commissioner is working to urge Gulf states to halt transit flights bound for Libya, a move that—in his view—would help curb the number of migrants heading to the country.