20.10.2026 23:11
The approval by Libya's House of Representatives of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Areas in the Mediterranean signed with Turkey in 2019 was widely covered in the Greek press. Pentapostagma, a Greek media outlet, said regarding the development, "The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has suffered a second defeat over the Turkish-Libyan memorandum."
The Libyan House of Representatives approved the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Libya and Turkey in 2019 on the determination of maritime jurisdiction areas.
APPROVAL OF THE AGREEMENT FROM LIBYA
In a statement from the Libyan House of Representatives, it was stated that the House convened in Benghazi.
In the statement, which noted that the House of Representatives unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 between the Government of National Accord and Turkey on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean, the following statements were included:
"The House of Representatives also unanimously revoked House of Representatives Decision No. (1) dated 2020 concerning the rejection of the approval of the two memoranda of understanding signed between the Government of National Accord and the Turkish government."
While Libya's approval of the agreement also brought reactions from Athens, the development, which brought a major gain for Turkey on the path of the Blue Homeland, also received wide coverage in the Greek press. Pentapostagma from the Greek media included striking statements in its news report on the issue.
GREEK PRESS: TURKEY WILL TRY TO GAIN AN ADVANTAGE AGAINST GREECE
Libya's agreement was evaluated in the report as follows: "A second defeat has come to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the Turkish-Libyan memorandum. The Turks will try to use this approval by Libya to gain an advantage against Greece on the ground.
When Ankara sends a research vessel such as Oruç Reis or Abdülhamid Han south of Crete, it may do so not to start a war, but to force the international community and Greece to accept that the area in question is "disputed". Its aim here is to show that no step can be taken in the Eastern Mediterranean without its approval, for example the search activities conducted by Chevron on behalf of Greece.
"IT REDUCES TURKEY'S DIPLOMATIC COSTS"
This strategy is no longer implemented only by Turkey. Libya, by making official oral notifications to Athens, requested that Greece freeze its search activities south of Crete on the grounds that its own maritime jurisdiction areas were being violated. This latest situation makes Turkey appear as an invited supporter or protector of Libya's interests, while also reducing the direct diplomatic costs assumed by Turkey.
WHY IS GREECE OBJECTING?
Greece argues that maritime jurisdiction areas should be drawn starting from its own islands, including Crete. According to Athens, the memorandum between Turkey and Libya violates its own exclusive economic zone southeast of Crete and ignores the maritime areas that should be granted to the islands. It is stated that the line determined by the memorandum is approximately 45 nautical miles from Crete.
Since Greece has no delimitation agreement with Libya, it bases its position on the median line between the two countries, relying on a law it enacted in 2011. Athens argues that this approach is in accordance with international law. Turkey, on the other hand, emphasizes that the memorandum is in accordance with international law, arguing that full effect cannot be granted to islands when they are close to the coast of another country and that the principle of equity must be observed.
Greece did not recognize the memorandum after it was signed and in 2020 signed its own maritime jurisdiction agreement with Egypt. In this agreement, some of the areas determined by the Turkey-Libya memorandum were shown as belonging to Greece.