Turkey signed an agreement with Libya’s internationally recognised government clearing the maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea, that could further complicate Ankara’s disputes concerning energy exploration with other countries, Reuters reports.
Specifically, Turkey provided no details on the memorandum and did not specify which are the Turkish and Libyan water borders. The internationally recognized government in Tripoli confirmed the new agreements but gave no details.
This announcement was followed by condemn from neighbouring countries, as Egypt commented that the deal was “illegal” and Greece stated that the deal is “geographically absurd”, because it did not include the presence of the Greek island of Crete between the coasts of Turkey and Libya.
Similarly, the government in eastern Libya, where rival political factions have been based since 2014, said the maritime accord was illegitimate.
Also, Reuters informs that the agreement was conducted between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Fayez al-Serraj, the head of the Tripoli-based government which Ankara is backing against a rival military force based in eastern Libya.
In the meantime, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu commented that Turkey wants to “share” its resources, including off Cyprus, with any country that wishes to cooperate.
Overall, Turkey is already having a dispute with Greece because of Turkish drilling in the eastern Mediterranean off the coast of the divided island of Cyprus, and the European Union has prepared sanctions against Turkey in response. Following the dispute, the EU issued sanctions against Turkey.
In light of these developments, Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, commented that the deal between Turkey and Libya forgets the large geographical land mass of Crete, adding that “such an attempt borders on the absurd.”
Concluding, Turkish presidency’s communications director Fahrettin Altun tweeted on Thursday that the agreement will strengthen military ties with the Tripoli-based government.
