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Libya's House of Representatives (HoR) on Tuesday unanimously approved a 2019 maritime boundary agreement with Türkiye, reversing its earlier rejection of the deal and repealing a decision to sever political ties with Ankara, the parliament said.
Lawmakers voted unanimously to approve the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Türkiye and Libya's former Government of National Accord (GNA) on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean Sea, parliament spokesman Abdullah Bliheg reportedly said.
The vote by the eastern-based parliament, which had long opposed the deal, strengthens the legal standing of an agreement that underpins Türkiye's claims in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The parliament also voted unanimously to repeal Resolution No. 1 of 2020, which rejected ratification of two MoUs signed between the Government of National Accord and Türkiye, Bliheg said.
Lawmakers additionally overturned Resolution No. 6 of 2020, which called for severing political relations with Türkiye, according to the statement issued in Benghazi.
In its 2020 resolution, the parliament had declared both memorandums void, stressing that agreements signed by the government required ratification by the legislature.
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The Government of National Accord, then led by Fayez al-Sarraj, and Türkiye signed two MoUs in Istanbul on Nov. 27, 2019, the first on security and military cooperation and the second on maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean, including the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Sarraj signed the maritime agreement, which was approved by Türkiye’s parliament and registered with the United Nations.
Under Article 57 of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, an exclusive economic zone "shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured."
Because distances between coastal states in the Eastern Mediterranean are less than 400 nautical miles, maritime boundaries there must be set through agreements, as Libya's vote gives the Türkiye maritime deal new backing.
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