Libyan Parliament Ratifies Sea Link With Turkey Amid Greek Opposition
A unanimous vote on Tuesday confirms a maritime corridor covering reserves estimated at several hundred billion dollars.
By Chioma Kuznetsov ·
Libya's parliament voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a maritime agreement with Turkey. The decision establishes a direct economic corridor connecting the two nations. The vote marks a reversal in policy for the eastern government, which previously opposed the deal. Turkey's Foreign Ministry welcomed the outcome.
The corridor stretches between Turkey's southern coast and Libya's northern coast. Recent discoveries in the area include large oil and gas deposits. Estimates suggest natural gas reserves under the seabed are worth several hundred billion US dollars. Ankara and Tripoli aim to secure economic rights to these resources and exploit them jointly.
The legal dispute centers on competing claims to exclusive economic zones. Greece asserts that it holds comprehensive rights around its islands, including Crete, Karpathos, and Rhodes. Athens relies on Article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This article grants inhabited islands the same maritime rights as mainland territory. Greece also points to a 2022 International Court of Justice ruling between Colombia and Nicaragua, which established principles for fair demarcation of overlapping interests.
Turkey argues that Mediterranean geography requires special consideration. Ankara contends that granting full zones to every small Greek island would cut Turkey off from the open sea. Turkey has not signed the UN convention and does not accept arbitration by its tribunals. Legal experts remain divided on the appropriate division of the sea.
Greece's Foreign Ministry stated on X that it firmly rejects the accord with the backing of the European Union. The EU called the memorandum null and void because it violates the sovereign rights of third states. Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, wrote on X that she had raised the Libyan vote. She stressed that the agreement infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states.
Political dynamics in Libya have shifted since 2019. Civil war was raging at that time, and Turkey intervened militarily to support the Tripoli government against General Khalifa Hifter. A rapprochement with Hifter's camp has since developed. Turkish firms won reconstruction contracts worth billions. Turkey's state oil company TPAO is working with Libya's National Oil Corporation on seismic surveys. Ankara also supplies weapons and training to Hifter's forces.
The new corridor threatens the planned EastMed pipeline. That project was designed to carry gas from Israel and Cyprus through Greece to bolster EU energy security. The corridor cuts across the pipeline's route. Turkey argues that cable or pipeline projects on its claimed continental shelf require its consent.
The agreement creates a potential split in the region. A Turkey-Libya axis may form against an EU-supported grouping. That grouping includes Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel.
