Libya’s eastern-based parliament has approved a 2019 maritime agreement with Turkiye, closing years of hostility between the two sides. The Tobruk-based House of Representatives operates as a rival to the UN-recognised legislature in Tripoli and is aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Haftar’s Benghazi-based government said in a statement on Tuesday that the House voted unanimously to approve the memorandum of understanding. It was signed in 2019 between Turkiye and the UN-recognised former Government of National Accord (GNA), and it sets out maritime boundaries between the two countries in the Mediterranean Sea.
Parliament reverses its 2020 rejection of the deal
The vote reverses a decision made six years earlier, when the same parliament rejected ratification and cut political ties with Ankara. Specialised committees gave a full and detailed account of the deal’s provisions, lawmaker Aisha al-Tabalqi told Reuters.
The move on Tuesday consolidates a strategic shift that has been developing since last year. That shift builds on Ankara’s military-to-military contacts with Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), including a July agreement to develop military facilities and advanced surveillance systems.
Greece and Cyprus objected to the original accord
When Turkiye signed the 2019 agreement with the Tripoli-based government, it triggered protests from Greece and Cyprus. Both countries denounced it as a serious breach of international law that disregarded the rights of other eastern Mediterranean states.
Tarek al-Jeroushi, a lawmaker in the eastern-backed parliament, defended the vote. “Some countries may be upset by this agreement, but what matters to us is our national interest,” he said, adding that the deal would strengthen Libya’s position as a political, military and economic partner to key powers.
Turkish involvement in Libya’s civil war since 2019
The LNA, which is widely believed to have received support from Egypt and other regional powers, has fought forces loyal to the Tripoli-based government since the Libyan civil war began in 2014. In December 2019, the LNA had nearly encircled Tripoli and threatened to overrun the GNA, then led by Fayez al-Sarraj.
Turkiye then sent military advisers and drones to halt the LNA advance, changing the course of the conflict. Seven years later, there is talk of Ankara setting up a military presence in areas under LNA control.
The eastern pivot is designed to secure Turkiye’s long-term geopolitical and economic interests. It also preserves Ankara’s influence in Libya, whatever political settlement emerges between the government and eastern authorities.
