Libya's Parliament Endorses Turkey Deal That Risks Fracturing Eastern Mediterranean Alliances

Libya's parliament voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a maritime agreement with Turkey, establishing a direct economic corridor between the two nations that immediately intensifies tensions with Greece. The move creates a legal framework for joint exploitation of oil and gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean, a region where competing territorial claims have long simmered.

The vote marks a significant shift in Libyan politics. The original agreement was struck in 2019 between Turkey and the United Nations recognized Government of National Accord in the west. The rival government in eastern Libya had opposed the deal at that time, citing its own territorial interests. The eastern parliament has now reversed that stance, and the Turkish Foreign Ministry has welcomed the decision as a step toward stabilizing regional partnerships.

The corridor connects Turkey's southern coast with Libya's northern coast. Recent discoveries indicate large deposits of oil and gas in this zone. 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 develop them jointly through shared infrastructure and exploration efforts.

Athens has responded with strong opposition, arguing that the planned corridor ignores its islands, including Crete, Karpathos, and Rhodes. The Greek Foreign Ministry stated on the social media platform X that it firmly rejects the accord with the backing of the European Union. Brussels called the memorandum null and void, claiming it violates the sovereign rights of third states and conflicts with the Law of the Sea. Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, echoed this sentiment, noting that the Libyan vote infringes upon the rights of neighboring states.

The core of the dispute involves conflicting interpretations of maritime law. Greece relies on Article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which grants inhabited islands capable of supporting an economic life the same exclusive economic zone rights as mainland territory. Athens cites a 2022 International Court of Justice ruling involving Colombia and Nicaragua to support its claim that overlapping interests require fair demarcation based on coastlines and geography.

Turkey contends that the specific geography of the Mediterranean deserves special consideration. Ankara argues that if every small Greek island near its coast received a full exclusive economic zone, Turkey would be largely cut off from the open sea. Because Turkey did not sign the convention, it does not accept arbitration by a UN tribunal, and legal experts remain divided on what constitutes a fair division of the waters in this specific context.

Political dynamics in Libya have changed dramatically since 2019, when civil war was active and Turkey intervened militarily to support the Tripoli government against an offensive by eastern General Khalifa Hifter. Since then, a Turkish charm offensive has fostered a rapprochement with Hifter's camp. Turkish firms have secured reconstruction contracts worth billions, and the state oil company TPAO is collaborating with Libya's National Oil Corporation on seismic surveys. Ankara also supplies weapons and training to Hifter's forces, helping to counter Egyptian and Russian influence in the east.

The agreement poses a direct challenge to the planned EastMed pipeline, which is designed to transport gas from Israel and Cyprus through Greece to enhance EU energy security. The new corridor intersects with the pipeline's intended route. Turkey has argued that any cable or pipeline projects on its claimed continental shelf require its consent. In the long term, analysts suggest the region may divide into two distinct blocs: a Turkey-Libya axis and an EU-supported grouping consisting of Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel.