Libyan lawmakers approve new sea route with Turkey, angering neighbors
The recent parliamentary vote formalizes a maritime corridor that cuts across Greek claims, setting the stage for a sharper economic and legal standoff in the eastern Mediterranean.
By Petra Murphy ·
Libya's parliament gave its unanimous approval to a maritime agreement with Turkey on Tuesday. This decision establishes a direct economic corridor linking the two nations. The move is expected to intensify existing friction in the eastern Mediterranean, particularly with Greece, which views the new boundary as an encroachment on its own waters.
The situation has evolved significantly since the original accord was signed in 2019. At that time, the deal was struck between Turkey and the United Nations recognized government in western Libya. The rival authority in the east opposed the arrangement then. However, the political landscape in Libya has shifted dramatically. The eastern parliament has now reversed its previous stance and backed the treaty. Turkey's foreign ministry welcomed the vote, signaling a stronger diplomatic alignment.
The corridor in question connects Turkey's southern coastline directly to Libya's northern shore. This area has attracted intense interest because large oil and gas deposits have been discovered recently. Estimates suggest that natural gas reserves worth several hundred billion US dollars may lie beneath the seabed. Ankara and Tripoli aim to secure their economic rights to these resources and plan to exploit them jointly.
The primary point of contention is that the planned corridor ignores several Greek islands, including Crete, Karpathos, and Rhodes. Athens maintains that it holds a comprehensive exclusive economic zone around these islands. The Greek foreign ministry announced its firm opposition to the deal. It stated that the European Union supports this position, with the EU calling the memorandum null and void. The rationale is that the agreement violates the sovereign rights of third states and is inconsistent with the Law of the Sea.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, echoed this sentiment. She wrote on social media that she had raised the issue of the Libyan vote. Kallas stressed that the new arrangement infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states. Her comments underscore the broader diplomatic support Greece has within the European bloc.
The core of the legal dispute centers on whose claims are considered legitimate. Greece relies heavily on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Article 121 of the convention grants inhabited islands that support their own economic life the same exclusive economic zone rights as mainland territory. Athens argues this applies to Crete, Rhodes, and Lesbos. The country also points to a 2022 ruling by the International Court of Justice involving Colombia and Nicaragua. That decision held that overlapping interests require a fair demarcation based on coastlines, geography, and the effects of any boundary.
Turkey takes a different view. Ankara argues that the specific geography of the Mediterranean deserves special weight in these calculations. Turkish officials contend that if every small Greek island near their coasts received a full exclusive economic zone, Turkey would be largely cut off from the open sea. Ankara never signed the convention and therefore does not accept arbitration by a UN tribunal. Even legal experts remain divided on what a fair division would look like in this complex region.
The political dynamics in Libya have changed considerably since 2019. During that year, civil war was raging, and Turkey intervened militarily to support the government in Tripoli and repel an offensive by eastern General Khalifa Hifter. Since then, a Turkish charm offensive has brought a rapprochement with Hifter's camp. Turkish firms have won contracts worth billions for reconstruction efforts. Additionally, Turkey's state oil company is working with Libya's national oil corporation on plans for seismic surveys off the coast. Turkey also supplies weapons and training to Hifter's forces, pushing back against Egyptian and Russian influence in the east.
The new agreement also poses a threat to the planned EastMed pipeline. This project was designed to carry gas from Israel and Cyprus through Greece to bolster EU energy security. The new corridor cuts across the route of this pipeline. Turkey has argued that any cable or pipeline projects on its claimed continental shelf require its consent. In the long term, the region could split into two distinct blocs: a Turkey-Libya axis and an EU supported grouping of Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel.
