Can Turkiye’s Libya breakthrough reshape Eastern Mediterranean diplomacy?
Summary
Turkiye is building closer political and military ties with eastern Libya after Libya’s eastern-based parliament approved a 2019 maritime agreement between Ankara and the Tripoli government. Ankara has renewed an offer for a maritime boundary agreement with Egypt, but Egypt, Greece and Cyprus have objected to the Libya-Turkiye deal, saying it infringes on their rights.Key Facts
- Libya’s eastern-based parliament in Tobruk approved the maritime agreement eight days before Turkiye renewed its offer to Egypt.
- The 2019 agreement sets out maritime jurisdiction areas claimed by Turkiye and Libya.
- Turkiye says the agreement complies with international law; Greece, Cyprus and Egypt say it infringes on their sovereign rights.
- Turkiye’s Ministry of National Defence said an agreement with Ankara could give Egypt more than 15,000 square kilometres of maritime jurisdiction; that figure is Turkiye’s estimate.
- Turkiye helped repel a 2019–2020 offensive on Tripoli by forces loyal to eastern military leader Khalifa Haftar.
- Turkish officials have held meetings with Khalifa Haftar, his son Saddam Haftar, and officials from the Tripoli government.
- On October 6, Libya’s eastern parliament replaced speaker Aguila Saleh with Al-Salhin Abdelnabi al-Obeidi, who previously chaired the Libyan-Turkish parliamentary friendship committee.
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