ATHENS: Libyan coast guard officers have started training on the Greek island of Crete as part of a plan to strengthen cooperation and help the two countries stem a surge in migrant arrivals, Greek sources said on Wednesday.
Relations between Greece and Libya have been strained by a maritime boundary agreement signed in 2019 between the Tripoli-based Libyan government and Turkiye, Greece’s long-standing foe.
A tender that Greece launched this year to develop hydrocarbon resources off Crete revived those tensions, while a spike in migrant flows from North Africa to Europe has prompted Athens to deploy frigates off Libya and pass legislation banning migrants arriving from Libya by sea from requesting asylum.
The division of Libya by factional conflict into eastern and western sections for over a decade has further complicated relations. Greece says it is determined to continue talking to both the Tripoli-based government and a parallel administration based in Benghazi to the east.
So far, coast guard officers from eastern Libya have been training in Greece, including areas such as patrolling and search and rescue operations. Coast guard officers from western Libya are expected to also participate in the training, the sources said.
As part of efforts to improve relations, Athens last week invited Libya’s internationally recognized government in Tripoli to start talks on demarcating exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean Sea.
Missions from both countries are expected to hold talks on maritime zones in the coming months, the Greek sources said.
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Libyan coast guards train in Greece under plan to stem migrant flows
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Libyan coast guards train in Greece under plan to stem migrant flows
White House: US well on way toward controlling Iran airspace
- Press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Washington expects the achievable US objectives to be completed in four to six weeks
WASHINGTON: The United States is well on its way toward controlling Iranian airspace, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Friday, adding that Washington expects the achievable US objectives to be completed in four to six weeks. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Leavitt also said Washington was looking at potential candidates to lead Iran, a day after President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview that the United States must be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran.
“I know there’s a number of people that our intelligence agencies and the United States government are looking at, but I won’t get any further on that,” Leavitt said.
In the interview on Thursday, Trump said that he thinks the next leader of Iran is unlikely to be the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son, who has emerged as a frontrunner to succeed his father, who was killed in a military strike at the start of the war.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said there would be no deal struck with Iran except “unconditional surrender.”
“What the President means is that when he, as Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America, and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not,” Leavitt said.
“I know there’s a number of people that our intelligence agencies and the United States government are looking at, but I won’t get any further on that,” Leavitt said.
In the interview on Thursday, Trump said that he thinks the next leader of Iran is unlikely to be the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son, who has emerged as a frontrunner to succeed his father, who was killed in a military strike at the start of the war.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said there would be no deal struck with Iran except “unconditional surrender.”
“What the President means is that when he, as Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America, and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not,” Leavitt said.
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