Libya Unanimously Approves Sea Route With Turkey

The eastern Mediterranean has long been a point of friction between neighbors with competing claims to offshore waters. On Tuesday, Libya’s parliament voted unanimously to approve a maritime agreement with Turkey.

The deal establishes a direct economic corridor connecting Turkey’s southern coast to Libya’s northern coast. This vote reverses a position held by the eastern government in 2019, when it opposed the original accord signed by the western Government of National Accord.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision immediately. The corridor is designed to secure joint economic rights to large oil and gas deposits recently found in the region. Estimates suggest natural gas reserves worth several hundred billion US dollars may lie beneath the seabed in that specific area.

The new boundary ignores several Greek islands, including Crete, Karpathos, and Rhodes. Athens maintains that it holds a comprehensive exclusive economic zone around these territories. Greece’s Foreign Ministry stated on X that it firmly rejects the accord with the support of the European Union.

Brussels has called the memorandum null and void. The EU argues the deal violates the sovereign rights of third states and conflicts with the Law of the Sea. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, echoed this view on X. She noted that the Libyan vote infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states.

The legal dispute centers on the interpretation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Greece points to Article 121, which grants inhabited islands the same economic zone rights as mainland territory if they support an independent economic life. Athens cites a 2022 International Court of Justice ruling involving Colombia and Nicaragua to support its stance on fair demarcation.

Turkey argues that Mediterranean geography requires special consideration. Ankara contends that if every small Greek island received a full economic zone, Turkey would be largely cut off from the open sea. As a non-signatory to the convention, Turkey does not accept arbitration by a UN tribunal.

Political dynamics in Libya have shifted since the 2019 civil war. Turkey intervened militarily to support the Tripoli government against an offensive led by eastern General Khalifa Hifter. Since then, a Turkish charm offensive has brought the two sides closer. Turkish firms have won reconstruction contracts worth billions, and the state oil company TPAO is conducting seismic surveys with Libya’s National Oil Corporation.

The 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 pipeline's intended route. Turkey has argued that cable or pipeline projects on its claimed continental shelf require its consent.

The region may soon split into two distinct blocs. One axis would consist of Turkey and Libya, while an EU-supported grouping would include Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel.