Libya's eastern-based parliament has voted unanimously to approve the 2019 maritime boundaries deal between Turkiye and Libya, reversing the rejection it issued in 2020 and deepening Ankara's alignment with military commander Khalifa Haftar's camp.
Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives, which runs as an alternative to the UN-recognised legislature in Tripoli and is backed by Haftar, voted unanimously to approve the memorandum of understanding on maritime boundaries signed in 2019 between Turkiye and Libya's then Government of National Accord.
Haftar's Benghazi-based government said in a statement on Tuesday that specialised committees presented a full and detailed explanation of the deal's provisions, lawmaker Aisha al-Tabalqi told the Reuters news agency. The approval came six years after the same parliament rejected the deal in 2020 and cut political ties with Ankara.
The vote consolidates a strategic shift in the works since last year, building on military-to-military contacts between Ankara and Haftar's Libyan National Army, including a July deal to develop military facilities and advanced surveillance systems. There is now talk of Turkiye setting up a military presence in areas under LNA control.
Greece reacted sharply, with its Foreign Ministry saying the 2019 memorandum violated international law of the sea and infringed on the sovereign rights of states in the region. Athens called on Libya to refrain from actions that undermine stability in the Mediterranean and said it had informed partners and allies and would take all appropriate measures to safeguard its sovereign rights. Greece and Cyprus had protested the deal when it was originally signed.
"Some countries may be upset by this agreement, but what matters to us is our national interest," said lawmaker Tarek al-Jeroushi, adding that the agreement would strengthen Libya's position as a political, military and economic partner to key powers.
The approval marks a notable turn, given that Turkiye intervened in December 2019 with military advisers and drones to halt the LNA's near-encirclement of Tripoli, altering the trajectory of Libya's civil war.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The vote erases the eastern parliament's six-year repudiation of the deal, locking in Turkiye's influence with both of Libya's rival governments and securing Ankara's position regardless of how the country's political split is eventually resolved.
- Greece regards the agreement as a violation of the law of the sea and an infringement on regional sovereign rights, raising the risk of diplomatic escalation over Mediterranean maritime and energy claims.
- Talk of a Turkish military presence in LNA-controlled territory would mark a major realignment in a conflict where Ankara once fought directly against Haftar's forces.
Background
Libya has been split since 2014 between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli and the eastern administration backed by the Libyan National Army, a division rooted in the civil war that followed the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. In 2019, Turkiye signed a maritime delimitation agreement with the then Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, drawing protests from Greece and Cyprus over Mediterranean rights. Months later, when Haftar's forces nearly encircled Tripoli, Ankara intervened with military advisers and drones, altering the war's trajectory. The eastern parliament's rejection of the deal in 2020 and its break with Ankara have now been reversed by Tuesday's vote.
Key Perspectives
Ankara: For Turkiye, the approval cements an eastern pivot that began with military-to-military contacts and the July deal on military facilities and surveillance systems. It preserves Turkish leverage in Libya under any future political settlement and keeps its Mediterranean maritime claims in force.
Athens: Greece rejects the memorandum outright, describing it as a violation of international law of the sea and an infringement on the sovereign rights of regional states. It has said it informed partners and allies and will take all appropriate measures to safeguard those rights.
The eastern administration: Haftar's camp frames the deal as a matter of national interest, with lawmaker al-Jeroushi arguing it strengthens Libya's standing as a political, military and economic partner to key powers, whatever the discomfort of some countries.
What to Watch
- Whether Turkiye follows through on reported plans for a military presence in areas controlled by the LNA.
- The substance of Greece's promised "appropriate measures" and the response of its partners and allies.
- The reaction of Egypt and other regional powers long believed to support the LNA, who could test the limits of the eastern camp's new Turkish alignment.