On 21 May, it was reported that the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) had submitted the week before a note of protest to the Greek ambassador in Tripoli, Nikos Garilidis, regarding the seismic survey of a Norwegian-flagged survey vessel south of Crete (in the Greek exclusive economy zone (EEZ)). The sea area is claimed by Libya following the 2019 maritime MoU between Turkey and Libya.
According to Greek media, there will be an appropriate response by the Greek MFA in the coming days, stressing that it does not recognize any basis for the Libyan allegations. Greek media speculated that the GNU MFA’s protest note against the seismic surveys off Crete could have been initiated by Turkey. Allegedly, the protest note was handed over shortly before a meeting between Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on 13 May.