Erdogan Defends Turkey-Libya Maritime Agreement

By Staff, Agencies

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected objections from the European Union and other parties to Turkey’s maritime agreement with Libya, saying they “have no legitimate legal basis” and stressing that Ankara is not seeking gains at the expense of other countries in the eastern Mediterranean.

His remarks followed an EU statement expressing regret over the Libyan House of Representatives’ ratification of the agreement. Brussels argued that the deal infringes on the sovereign rights of other countries, violates the law of the sea and has no legal effect on third parties.

The Libyan House of Representatives approved the memorandum of understanding last Tuesday. It also repealed two decisions adopted in 2020 that had rejected ratification of the memorandums with Ankara and called for severing political relations with Turkey.

Erdogan and Fayez al-Sarraj, then head of Libya’s Government of National Accord, signed the agreement on November 27, 2019.

It entered into force the following month and defines maritime jurisdiction between the two countries, including their continental shelves and exclusive economic zones, as well as rights to explore natural resources and develop oil and gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also defended the agreement, describing it as legitimate from both legal and political perspectives in remarks to Anadolu Agency in Brussels on Thursday.

Fidan said the agreement had been in force since 2019 and argued that the Libyan parliament’s recent vote amounted to acceptance rather than a new ratification. Ankara maintains that the deal provides a legal basis for delimiting maritime jurisdiction between Turkey and Libya.

The Turkish foreign minister acknowledged that some countries object to the agreement because of strategic concerns, while others feel compelled to oppose it. He said Ankara would continue pursuing diplomatic efforts to promote security, stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean.