Libyan parliament approves Turkey maritime deal; Greece rejects it as void

Libya's parliament unanimously approved a maritime agreement with Turkey on Tuesday, and Greece has since rejected the deal as invalid. DW reported that the agreement establishes a direct maritime economic corridor between the two countries and that Turkey's Foreign Ministry welcomed the vote.

According to DW, Turkey agreed the corridor in 2019 with the UN-recognized Government of National Accord in western Libya. The rival Libyan government in the east opposed it at the time, but the eastern parliament has now reversed that position. eKathimerini said the approval came from Libya's House of Representatives, based in the eastern city of Benghazi. Pagenews.gr dated the vote to October 20, 2026, and gave November 2019 as the month the memorandum was originally signed.

DW reported that the corridor runs between the southern coast of Turkey and the northern coast of Libya, and that it disregards Greek islands such as Crete, Karpathos and Rhodes. Greece's government insists it has a comprehensive exclusive economic zone around these islands, DW said. According to DW, Turkey and Libya aim to secure their economic rights to oil and gas deposits in the area and to exploit them jointly.

DW said the Greek Foreign Ministry announced on X that Greece firmly rejects the agreement and has the European Union's support. The ministry posted: "The European Union has described the Turkish-Libyan memorandum as null and void, stressing that it violates the sovereign rights of third states and is not consistent with the Law of the Sea." Kaja Kallas, the European Union high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, posted on X that she "raised yesterday's Libyan vote on a maritime MoU with Türkiye and stressed that it infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states", DW reported.

eKathimerini, citing diplomatic sources, reported that Greece sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday. Aglaia Balta, Greece's permanent representative to the United Nations, sent it on the instructions of Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis. The letter reiterates Athens' position that the memorandum is invalid, violates the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and cannot produce legal effects vis-à-vis third countries, the outlet said.

eKathimerini added that Gerapetritis and his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, agreed on Thursday to begin discussions on extending the maritime delimitation agreement between Greece and Egypt.

Pagenews.gr reported that Balta also raised the issue during closed consultations at the UN Security Council on October 21. According to diplomatic accounts cited by the outlet, she warned that the Libyan parliament's decision could have implications for regional security and stability. The outlet attributed the message "Geography does not change" to the Greek intervention.

Pagenews.gr said Gerapetritis told Mega News radio on October 21 that "The memorandum will not be implemented." He also said, "We will activate our mechanisms," which the outlet described as a reference to Greece acting through European and international institutions. Pagenews.gr noted that these remarks did not amount to an announcement of sanctions or other specific punitive measures.

DW reported that Greece cites UNCLOS, while Turkey argues that granting a full exclusive economic zone to every small Greek island off the Turkish and Cypriot coasts would largely cut Turkey off from the open sea. DW added that Turkey has never signed UNCLOS and so does not agree to have the dispute heard by a UN arbitration tribunal.