BENGHAZI, Libya — Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a 2019 maritime agreement with Turkey that it had rejected six years ago, reviving a dispute with Greece, Egypt and Cyprus over rights in the eastern Mediterranean, Al Jazeera and AP reported.
The memorandum, signed in Istanbul in November 2019 by Turkey and Libya’s then-Government of National Accord in Tripoli, sets out the two countries’ continental shelf and exclusive economic zones. Parliament spokesman Abdullah Bliheg said lawmakers also repealed their 2020 decisions rejecting the deal and cutting political ties with Ankara, the state news agency LANA reported.
The parliament is aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar, whose forces nearly encircled Tripoli in 2019 before Turkey sent military advisers and drones to stop them. Ankara has since built military ties with Haftar, including a deal in July to develop military facilities and surveillance systems, Al Jazeera reported.
“Some countries may be upset by this agreement, but what matters to us is our national interest,” lawmaker Tarek al-Jeroushi said, according to Al Jazeera.
Greece’s Foreign Ministry said the vote does not change the fact that the memorandum “remains illegal, null and void” and ignores the Greek islands’ rights to maritime zones. “Geography and international law of the sea cannot be altered by unilateral, legally unfounded parliamentary decisions,” it said, adding that Turkey and Libya do not have opposite or adjacent coasts. Athens said it had informed its partners and allies and would take “all appropriate action” to protect its sovereign rights. Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis discussed the deal by phone with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, the ministry said.
Sources: Al Jazeera, LANA, Greek Foreign Ministry, AP
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