Turkey and Libya renew controversial maritime agreement

Turkey has played a decisive role during the Libyan conflict by supporting the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital, Tripoli, which controlled the west of the country. The Eurasian country has also sent military supplies and fighters to Libya, helping to tip the balance of power in favour of the Tripoli government.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took advantage of this influence in Libya to reach an agreement with the Tripoli government to delimit the maritime borders between the two countries in the Mediterranean. This did not sit well with countries such as Greece and Cyprus, with which Turkey has ongoing disputes over gas exploration in these waters. 

With the arrival of the new government in Libya led by Abdul Hamid Dbeiba, this agreement could be without effect, so Erdogan and Libya's interim prime minister met in Ankara to discuss relations between the two countries, as well as to resume the 2019 maritime agreement. "Regarding the agreements signed by our countries, especially the maritime agreement, we reaffirm that those agreements are valid," Dbeiba said after talks with Erdogan.

Still, the Libyan prime minister was keen to qualify that it was important to start a dialogue that would take into account the interests of all parties involved and that his government was ready to establish a joint Libyan-Greek committee to resume negotiations to fix the maritime border between the two countries and demarcate an exclusive economic zone for oil and gas drilling rights.

The news came at the same time as Greece reopened its embassy in Libya after seven years. Greece had called for the deal to be cancelled, believing it violated international law.

Less than a month ago, the Turkish and Greek governments held a new round of talks to discuss hydrocarbon exploration in the Mediterranean area. This meeting, which was the 62nd to be held on the issue since 2000, was again unsuccessful and without a solution to the dispute in the short term.

The meeting between the leaders of Turkey and Libya also agreed to take measures to facilitate the return of Turkish companies to Libya, as well as concrete measures to improve investment, bilateral trade and economic relations, Erdogan explained, adding that Ankara will send 150,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Libya as part of the support against the new wave caused by the virus.