Libya Parliament Unanimously Ratifies Turkey Sea Corridor

A direct economic corridor between Turkey and Libya is now official after the Libyan parliament voted unanimously to ratify the maritime agreement on Tuesday. The decision creates a new axis in the eastern Mediterranean that directly challenges the exclusive economic zone claims of Greece and other coastal states. The vote marks a major shift in the regional balance of power.

The roots of this dispute stretch back to 2019, when Turkey first agreed to a similar corridor with the UN-recognized Government of National Accord based in western Libya. At that time, the rival government in the east opposed the deal, citing concerns over their territorial rights. The eastern parliament has now reversed its previous position, effectively unifying the Libyan stance on this issue. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the recent vote as a step toward stronger regional cooperation.

The proposed corridor links Turkey’s southern coast directly with Libya’s northern coast. Recent geological surveys have identified large oil and gas deposits in the waters between the two countries. Estimates suggest that natural gas reserves in this area could be worth several hundred billion US dollars. Both Ankara and Tripoli intend to secure their economic rights to these resources and exploit them jointly.

Greece has announced its firm opposition to the new accord. The Greek Foreign Ministry stated on X that it rejects the deal with the backing of the European Union. The EU described the memorandum as null and void, arguing that it violates the sovereign rights of third states and is inconsistent with the Law of the Sea. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, wrote on X that the Libyan vote infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states.

The legal core of the dispute centers on the status of Greek islands. Greece relies on Article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which grants inhabited islands the same exclusive economic zone rights as mainland territory. Athens argues that this provision covers islands such as Crete, Rhodes, and Lesbos. Turkey counters that Mediterranean geography requires special weight, claiming that full economic zones for small Greek islands would cut Turkey off from the open sea.

Political dynamics in Libya have shifted considerably since the 2019 civil war. Turkey intervened militarily to support the Tripoli government against an offensive by eastern General Khalifa Hifter. Since then, a Turkish charm offensive has brought a rapprochement with Hifter’s camp. Turkish firms have won reconstruction contracts worth billions, and Turkey’s state oil company TPAO is working with Libya’s National Oil Corporation on seismic surveys. Turkey also supplies weapons and training to Hifter’s forces, countering Egyptian and Russian influence in the east.

The new corridor also threatens the planned EastMed pipeline, which was designed to carry gas from Israel and Cyprus through Greece to bolster EU energy security. The new maritime boundary cuts across the planned route of the pipeline. 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 region between a Turkey-Libya axis and an EU-supported grouping of Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel.