21.10.2026 13:42
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan assessed the Libyan House of Representatives' unanimous approval of the memorandum of understanding on maritime jurisdiction areas signed with Turkey in 2019. Expressing his satisfaction with the decision, Erdoğan said, "Yesterday we received extremely welcome news from Libya."
The Libyan House of Representatives approved by unanimous vote the maritime jurisdiction areas memorandum signed with Turkey in 2019, annulling its 2020 rejection decision. The first statement on the development, which is of critical importance for the balance in the Eastern Mediterranean, came from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The House of Representatives, convening in the Libyan city of Benghazi, unanimously accepted the Memorandum of Understanding on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Areas signed between Turkey and the Libyan Government of National Accord in 2019.
The House also annulled its previous 2020 decision rejecting the approval of the agreement. Thus, approval came from the Libyan House of Representatives regarding the maritime jurisdiction areas memorandum between Turkey and Libya.
ERDOĞAN: WE RECEIVED EXTREMELY PLEASING NEWS
In his statement regarding the decision of the Libyan House of Representatives, President Erdoğan used the following expressions:
"Yesterday we received extremely pleasing news from Libya. The Libyan House of Representatives unanimously accepted the memorandum of understanding on maritime jurisdiction areas signed between Turkey and Libya. I wish this important decision to be auspicious and beneficial, and through you I send my greetings to all my brothers in the Libyan House of Representatives."
IMPORTANT FOR MARITIME JURISDICTION AREAS IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
The memorandum signed between Turkey and Libya in 2019 regulates the delimitation of the two countries' maritime jurisdiction areas in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The agreement carries strategic importance for Turkey's arguments regarding its continental shelf and maritime jurisdiction areas in the Eastern Mediterranean.
While Turkey opposes some maritime jurisdiction area claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus in the region, it considers the memorandum signed with Libya important for the protection of its rights arising from international law. Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus, on the other hand, object to the memorandum.
WHAT IS A MARITIME JURISDICTION AREA?
Maritime jurisdiction areas refer to the areas where coastal states exercise sovereignty or sovereign rights on specific matters at sea.
Areas with different legal statuses, such as territorial waters, the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone, are important for the exploration and exploitation of natural resources, fisheries, energy activities and the protection of the marine environment.
In the event that maritime jurisdiction areas overlap between countries whose coasts are opposite or adjacent, delimitation can be carried out through agreements or other peaceful methods within the framework of international law.