Greece warns Libya’s Turkey maritime deal threatens Mediterranean stability

On Monday, Greece cautioned that Libya's endorsement of a contentious maritime pact with Turkey jeopardizes stability in the Mediterranean. The Foreign Minister of Greece, George Gerapetritis, conveyed this concern in New York, stating that the approval by Libya's Eastern House of Representatives of the 2019 preliminary agreement with Turkey raises serious questions about regional security and stability.

He emphasized that it also challenges the international legal framework, suggesting that unilateral agreements neglect established norms of international law and infringe upon the rights of other nations. The joint statement was issued in collaboration with Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates.

The agreement, signed by Turkey and the internationally recognized Libyan government in Tripoli, establishes a maritime passage between Turkey's southern coastline and Libya's northern coastline. This provision enables both countries to assert economic rights over potentially valuable oil and gas reserves beneath the Mediterranean seabed.

However, Libya's rival eastern administration, headed by military commander Khalifa Haftar, vehemently opposed the agreement for years. Following the initial signing of the pact, which took place during Libya's civil war, Turkey has maintained close relations with both Haftar and the government in Tripoli, enabling Ankara to collaborate with both factions of Libya's fragmented leadership.

The deal has exacerbated tensions with neighboring nations, notably Greece, Egypt, and Cyprus. Gerapetritis highlighted that the agreement disregards the maritime entitlements of Greek islands protected under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which serves as a means to resolve territorial disputes. Additionally, the agreement could complicate the implementation of the EastMed pipeline, a proposed project aimed at transporting natural gas from Israel and Cyprus to Greece via Greece, thereby bolstering Europe's energy security. This pipeline's planned route crosses waters claimed by Turkey and Libya under the agreement.

A diplomat, who declined to be identified due to the delicate nature of the issue, informed The National that Turkey and Libya, lacking adjacent or opposite coastlines, have no common maritime boundaries. Consequently, the memorandum is deemed null and void and lacks any legal consequences. The diplomat further underscored that the proposed maritime boundary is a "blatant reinterpretation of geography" that contravenes international maritime law by ignoring numerous Greek islands.

The UN envoy of Libya, Taher El Sonni, defended the agreement, stating it was a "sovereign decision" and urging countries challenging it to pursue legal avenues, including the International Court of Justice. Similarly, the European Union has also criticized the agreement, contending that it infringes upon the sovereign rights of third countries and does not align with the law of the sea.

Additionally, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, condemned violations of international maritime law governing such agreements and stressed that incompatible agreements should not be acknowledged or endorsed. Egypt, a prolonged supporter of the Eastern Libyan authorities, likewise rejected the deal, declaring it null and void and void of legal effect in Cairo.

Cairo and Athens had previously reached their own maritime delimitation agreement in August 2020. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed the criticism from the EU and others as having "no legitimate basis," affirming that Turkey and Libya are not attempting to assert dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean and that those seeking to exclude Turkey from the region must respect Ankara's decision.