Cairo and Tripoli have agreed to hold talks following Egypt’s concerns over Libya’s maritime memorandum of understanding with Turkey, a deal that could threaten Israel’s ability to develop underwater infrastructure connections and pose broader maritime security challenges, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ambassador Nader Zaki told Egypt’s Alghad TV on Monday.
The agreement, signed in 2019 by the Tripoli-based, internationally recognized Libyan government, was approved by the eastern Libyan parliament, the House of Representatives, last month, drawing criticism from Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, and Israel.
The interview came two days after Egypt reopened its embassy building in Tripoli, which had been closed for more than 12 years, during a visit by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. Egypt had shut the embassy following the abduction of five Egyptian diplomats and embassy staff.
Abdelatty’s visit also included significant discussions on trade and energy cooperation. In a statement on Saturday, he said Egypt aimed to accelerate joint energy projects with Libya, including gas pipeline links, the refining of Libyan crude oil in Egypt, and an electricity interconnection. He also called for greater cooperation on petroleum products and the completion of projects to refine Libyan oil in Egypt for re-export.
Zaki said Egypt had stressed that the agreement between Turkey and Libya was not binding on other countries, adding that the memorandum affected Egyptian maritime borders in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
Egypt's position 'consistent with international law'
Turkey maintains a significant naval presence in the Mediterranean and has increasingly asserted its maritime claims under the Mavi Vatan (Blue Homeland) doctrine, which challenges maritime boundaries claimed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Introduced in 2006, the doctrine seeks to assert Turkish sovereign rights and jurisdiction over a 462,000-square-kilometer maritime area spanning the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, and eastern Mediterranean.
“There is a political component, which is what we have discussed so far. It has been agreed that there will be dialogue, while the format of that dialogue will be determined later and announced in due course. Whether it takes the form of a committee or something else, I cannot give it a specific name until that has been decided,” Zaki said. “However, this dialogue will take place under the framework of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. As we have said repeatedly, international law provides a framework that serves everyone and ensures that each party receives its rights. Egypt's position is entirely and fully consistent with international law, and we believe this framework can satisfy everyone because it is the text of international law that all parties should respect.”
Turkey is not a signatory to UNCLOS or the Convention on the Continental Shelf and has sought to assert maritime claims that treat Greek islands as an extension of its territory.
While Turkey’s maritime ambitions could pose a significant security risk to Israel, and Zaki acknowledged that dialogue on the issue should “involve all the countries concerned,” he described Cairo’s proposed discussions as involving only Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Libya, and Turkey.
Turkey-Libya deal poses risk to Israel, expert warns
Colonel (res.) Eran Lerman, vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and a lecturer in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Shalem College, explained to The Jerusalem Post last month that the agreement between Turkey and Libya posed a major risk for Israeli interests and national security.
Israel has been working in recent years on an ambitious project to connect its electricity grid to Cyprus and Greece, and from there to mainland Europe, a project Ankara has strongly opposed, disputing the maritime boundaries claimed by Greece under international law.
“I’m not sure the Turks will actually intervene to disrupt the laying of an electricity connector. It is not entirely clear whether they have the authority to do so in their exclusive economic zone, but this is going to be a source of growing tension in the coming years,” he said at the time.
There are also concerns that the maritime MoU could expand Turkey’s military presence.
Follow us on GoogleSource: The Jerusalem Post · DANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
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