Libya-Turkey maritime deal threatens Mediterranean stability, six parties warn

Greece, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, the EU and the UAE warned on Monday that Libya’s approval of a disputed maritime agreement with Turkey threatens regional stability in the Mediterranean.

Delivering the joint statement to reporters in New York, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said the vote by Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives to ratify the 2019 preliminary agreement “raises serious concerns for regional security and stability”.

“The so-called Turkish Libyan Memorandum...disregards geographical realities and the maritime entitlements of all relevant coastal States, including the maritime entitlements of islands under UNCLOS,” Mr Gerapetritis said, referring to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The agreement, signed by Ankara and the internationally recognised Libyan government in Tripoli, western Libya, establishes a maritime corridor between Turkey's southern coast and Libya's northern coast, allowing the two countries to assert economic rights over potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves beneath the Mediterranean seabed.

Libya’s rival eastern administration, led by military commander Khalifa Haftar, opposed the agreement for years. At the time it was signed, Libya was in the middle of a civil war.

Turkey has since strengthened ties with Khalifa Haftar, Field Marshal and his allies while maintaining its close relationship with the government in Tripoli, allowing Ankara to work with both sides of Libya’s divided leadership.

The agreement, however, has fuelled tension with neighbouring countries, particularly Greece, Egypt and Cyprus.

Mr Gerapetritis said the deal ignores the maritime entitlements of Greek islands protected under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which can be used to arbitrate territorial disputes.

The agreement could also complicate plans for the EastMed pipeline, a proposed project to transport natural gas from Israel and Cyprus through Greece to Europe. The pipeline is intended to strengthen Europe's energy security, but its planned route crosses waters claimed by Turkey and Libya under the deal.

"Turkey and Libya have no adjacent coasts and no opposite coasts and, therefore, no common maritime boundaries," a diplomat who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter told The National.

"The memorandum is null and void and produces no legal consequences. Equally, its purported ratification too is contrary to international law and of no legal effect."

The diplomat underlined that the two sides are disregarding numerous Greek islands, describing the proposed maritime boundary as a "blatant refashioning of geography" that violates international maritime law.

"Accepting bilateral arrangements that disregard the applicable rules and principles of the law of the sea would set a dangerous precedent, undermining the international legal order," the diplomat added.

Libya's UN envoy, Taher El Sonni, defended the agreement, telling The National it was a "sovereign decision" and that countries challenging it should pursue legal avenues, including the International Court of Justice.

“We see that this is a legitimate agreement, but we respect also all views of all neighbouring countries, and we try to have bilateral discussions with them,” he said.

The EU has also criticised the agreement, saying it violates the sovereign rights of third countries and does not comply with the law of the sea.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told reporters on Monday in Cairo that violations of international law governing maritime agreements were unacceptable, and agreements that were incompatible with the convention should not be recognised or accepted.

Egypt, a long-time supporter of the eastern Libyan authorities, also rejected the deal last week, stating that the deal was null and void and would have no legal effect in Cairo.

Cairo and Athens had signed their own maritime delimitation agreement in August 2020.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that criticism from the EU and others had “no legitimate basis”.

“We are not seeking to score points against anyone in the eastern Mediterranean,” he said, adding that those seeking to exclude Turkey from the region must respect the will of Ankara and Libya.