Greece, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, the EU and the UAE warned on Monday that Libya’s approval of a disputed maritime agreement with Turkey threatens regional stability in the Mediterranean.
Delivering the joint statement to reporters in New York, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said the vote by Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives to ratify the 2019 preliminary agreement “raises serious concerns for regional security and stability”.
“The so-called Turkish Libyan Memorandum...disregards geographical realities and the maritime entitlements of all relevant coastal States, including the maritime entitlements of islands under UNCLOS,” Mr Gerapetritis said, referring to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The agreement, signed by Ankara and the internationally recognised Libyan government in Tripoli, western Libya, establishes a maritime corridor between Turkey's southern coast and Libya's northern coast, allowing the two countries to assert economic rights over potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves beneath the Mediterranean seabed.
The deal has long been a source of friction with Greece, Egypt and Cyprus, which argue that it disregards their maritime rights and violates international law.
Libya’s rival eastern administration, led by military commander Khalifa Haftar, opposed the agreement for years. At the time it was signed, Libya was in the middle of a civil war.
Turkey has since strengthened ties with Khalifa Haftar, Field Marshal and his allies while maintaining its close relationship with the government in Tripoli, allowing Ankara to work with both sides of Libya’s divided leadership.
The agreement could also complicate plans for the EastMed pipeline, a proposed project that would transport natural gas from Israel and Cyprus through Greece to Europe. Intended to strengthen Europe’s energy security, the pipeline would cross waters claimed by Turkey and Libya under the deal.
Mr Gerapetritis said the agreement disregards the maritime rights of Greek islands under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which can be used to arbitrate territorial disputes.
"Turkey and Libya have no adjacent coasts and no opposite coasts and, therefore, no common maritime boundaries," a diplomat who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter told The National.
"The memorandum is null and void and produces no legal consequences. Equally, its purported ratification too is contrary to international law and of no legal effect."
The diplomat underlined that the two sides are disregarding numerous Greek islands, describing the proposed maritime boundary as a "blatant refashioning of geography" that violates international maritime law.
"Accepting bilateral arrangements that disregard the applicable rules and principles of the law of the sea would set a dangerous precedent, undermining the international legal order," the diplomat added.
Libya's UN envoy, Taher El Sonni, defended the agreement, telling The National it was a "sovereign decision" and that countries challenging it should pursue legal avenues, including the International Court of Justice.
“We see that this is a legitimate agreement, but we respect also all views of all neighbouring countries, and we try to have bilateral discussions with them,” he said.
The EU has also criticised the agreement, saying it violates the sovereign rights of third countries and does not comply with the law of the sea.
Speaking to reporters in Cairo on Monday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said violations of international law were unacceptable and that maritime arrangements incompatible with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea should not be recognised or accepted.
Egypt, a longtime supporter of Libya’s eastern authorities, rejected the agreement last week, declaring it null and void and without legal effect for Cairo.
Cairo and Athens had signed their own maritime delimitation agreement in August 2020.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed the criticism on Monday, saying objections from the EU and other parties had “no legitimate basis”.
“We are not seeking to score points against anyone in the eastern Mediterranean,” he said, adding that those seeking to exclude Turkey from the region must respect the will of Ankara and Libya.
