100% Approval: Libya's East Ratifies $100B Sea Corridor With Turkey

Libya's eastern parliament voted unanimously on Tuesday to ratify a maritime agreement with Turkey, establishing a direct economic corridor between the two nations. The decision marks a sharp reversal for the eastern legislature, which had opposed the deal when it was first struck in 2019. Turkey's Foreign Ministry issued a statement welcoming the vote as a step toward securing regional energy rights.

The corridor connects Turkey's southern coast to Libya's northern coast, a zone where recent surveys have identified large oil and gas deposits. Estimates suggest natural gas reserves in the area are worth several hundred billion US dollars. Ankara and Tripoli intend to exploit these resources jointly, citing their sovereign rights to the seabed.

The move immediately complicated diplomatic relations with Greece, whose islands lie between the two countries. The corridor bypasses Greek territories including Crete, Karpathos, and Rhodes. Athens asserts that these inhabited islands hold comprehensive exclusive economic zone rights under international law. The Greek Foreign Ministry announced on X that it firmly rejects the accord, noting that the European Union has declared the memorandum null and void for violating the sovereign rights of third states.

Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, echoed the European bloc's position. She wrote on X that she had raised the Libyan vote with partners and stressed that the agreement infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states. This stance aligns with the EU's broader support for a grouping of Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel against the Turkey-Libya axis.

Legal experts note the dispute hinges on the interpretation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Greece relies on Article 121, which grants inhabited islands the same economic zone rights as mainland territory. It points to a 2022 International Court of Justice ruling involving Colombia and Nicaragua to support its position on fair demarcation. Turkey, which never signed the convention, argues that Mediterranean geography requires special weight to prevent it from being cut off from the open sea.

The ratification reflects a shift in Libyan politics since the 2019 civil war. Turkey previously intervened militarily to support the western Government of National Accord against General Khalifa Hifter's forces in the east. A subsequent rapprochement has seen Turkish firms win reconstruction contracts worth billions, while the state oil company TPAO collaborates with Libya's National Oil Corporation on seismic surveys. Turkey also supplies weapons and training to Hifter's forces, countering Egyptian and Russian influence.

The new corridor directly intersects the planned route of the EastMed pipeline, which was designed to carry gas from Israel and Cyprus through Greece to the European Union. Turkey has argued that cable or pipeline projects on its claimed continental shelf require its consent. The agreement sets the stage for a potential split in the eastern Mediterranean into two competing blocs: a Turkey-Libya axis and an EU-supported grouping of Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel.