Relations between the two countries had been traditionally friendly, especially during the 1980s and 1990s, when the personal friendship between Muammar Gaddafi and Greek socialist Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou contributed to close ties between the two countries.

Due to the Libyan Civil War, in 2014 Greece closed its embassy in Tripoli, while Libya continued to be represented in Greece through its embassy in Athens.

The signing in 2019 of the Libya (GNA)–Turkey maritime deal fuelled Greece’s strong reaction and condemnation,[1] also followed by concerns raised for its legality by other countries in the region,[2][3][4] the international community and political powers within Libya itself, including the rival Tobruk-based government led by Libya's Parliament (House of Representatives) and the Libyan National Army.

Greece regarded it as "void" and "geographically absurd", because it ignored the presence of the Greek islands of Crete, Kasos, Karpathos, Kastellorizo and Rhodes between the Turkish–Libyan coasts.

Following political change at the head of Government in Libya in 2021, and in an effort to stabilise relations and increase Greece’s diplomatic presence in the country, the reopening of the Greek Embassy in Tripoli and a new Consulate General in Benghazi were announced by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.