Libya’s eastern House of Representatives has reversed its rejection of a maritime pact with Türkiye, giving the agreement renewed backing from eastern lawmakers while leaving rival Mediterranean jurisdiction claims unresolved.
The Libyan News Agency reported, citing House spokesman Abdullah Bliheg, that lawmakers voted unanimously Oct. 20 to approve the 2019 memorandum and repeal two 2020 decisions. One rejected ratification of the Türkiye-Libya memoranda; the other severed political relations with Ankara.
Türkiye and Libya’s then-Tripoli-based Government of National Accord signed the memorandum in Istanbul on Nov. 27, 2019. The United Nations Treaty Collection records that it entered into force Dec. 8 that year. Its text sets out coordinates for continental shelf and exclusive economic zone boundaries and allows the parties to agree on joint exploitation of certain natural resources. The Associated Press reported that Türkiye supported the Tripoli-based government during its conflict with forces aligned with eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the House vote, saying the memorandum protects the countries’ mutual rights and interests. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry called the pact null and void and said the Libyan parliament’s approval had no legal consequences for Egypt. Greece argued that Türkiye and Libya lack opposite or adjacent coasts to support the boundary and that the pact disregards Greek islands’ maritime entitlements. The European Council and European Commission said the pact disregards other states’ sovereign rights and runs counter to the law of the sea.
Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry renewed its offer to negotiate a maritime boundary agreement with Egypt. It estimated that Egypt could have more than 15,000 square kilometers more maritime jurisdiction under a deal with Türkiye than under a potential agreement with Greece. An unnamed senior Turkish official told Al Jazeera, “We will discuss this one too,” referring to the maritime issue with Egypt.
Greece and Egypt signed a partial exclusive economic zone agreement in 2020. Reuters reported that the two governments were discussing extending it eastward toward Cyprus after the Libyan vote; the report described talks, not an agreed extension. The vote and those discussions were also covered in EconoTimes’ earlier report on the Libyan pact and Greece-Egypt talks.
Türkiye’s Defense Ministry has scheduled Turkish naval forces to join Egypt-hosted Dostluk Denizi-2026 exercises in Alexandria from Nov. 4 to 9.
