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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated on Wednesday that Türkiye's 2019 maritime agreement with Libya is "entirely legitimate," a day after Libya's House of Representatives (HoR) unanimously approved the deal, as Libyan leaders welcomed the move and accused Greece of seeking more than its share.
"This is an entirely legitimate agreement, both from a legal and a political perspective. There is no need to debate it," Fidan told Türkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) in Brussels.
Backing from the eastern-based parliament, which once rejected the deal, unites Libya's rival camps behind an agreement that underpins Türkiye's maritime claims in the Eastern Mediterranean and opens the door to Turkish energy projects.
"According to our legal experts, what took place in the Libyan House of Representatives was essentially an act of acceptance rather than ratification," he said, adding, "From our perspective, we have regarded this as a valid agreement since 2019."
"We understand why these countries are reacting. Some are reacting because they feel they are expected to do so, while others genuinely have strategic concerns regarding this issue," he noted.
"The trust that our Libyan brothers have placed in Türkiye, as well as the stability this agreement will bring to the Eastern Mediterranean, is of tremendous importance," the Turkish top diplomat stated, calling it a diplomatic achievement under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s leadership.
"Our diplomacy has no other purpose than this," he noted.
"Greece’s objection is natural because it wants more than its right. That is the difference between us and them; we want our own rights, they demand more than they deserve," Libyan Presidential Council Vice Chairman Moussa al-Koni told AA.
"If Greece has a right, it should go to international arbitration. But it doesn’t want this because it knows it has no right," he said, adding it was "truly sad" that Greece was trying to rely on the EU’s power.
"Parliament’s approval will of course open the doors wide for Türkiye in Libya, not only because Türkiye is a friendly country that signed an agreement with Libya but also because it has capability and experience," Koni said.
"We expect well-known major Turkish companies to be present in every region of Libya to contribute to the extraction and marketing of oil and gas," he added.
He described Türkiye as a "mediator who takes sides" that has brought Libya’s rival factions together several times.
Libyan House of Representatives Speaker Saleheen Abdul Nabi called the agreement a "sovereign decision" backed by Libyans, saying it "does not affect the interests of other countries," during a meeting with Italy’s consul general in Benghazi.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus also welcomed the approval in a call with Abdul Nabi, calling it a tangible demonstration of close Türkiye-Libya relations and inviting him to Türkiye.
The vote was also welcomed by the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNA), the eastern government, the High Council of State and eastern forces' deputy commander Saddam Haftar.
The agreement was signed on Nov. 27, 2019, and entered into force on Dec. 7 that year.
In Brussels, Fidan met NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to discuss follow-up to the July NATO summit in Ankara, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Gulf.
He discussed the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb and Black Sea grain shipments with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
"We also reviewed the areas where Türkiye-EU relations have reached a deadlock, as well as the areas where progress has been made," Fidan stated.
After talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Türkiye’s candidate status, he said: "It is essential to continue substantive, well-planned, and persistent discussions on these matters," as Ankara hails the Libya maritime deal.
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