A Bloomberg report on Thursday has lawmakers in eastern Libya-based house of representatives ready to vote to ratify a controversial 2019 MoU penned between the rival but internationally recognized Tripoli-based government and Turkey.
That agreement generated Greece’s stern reaction, irked other regional countries and eventually earned disapproval by the EU as a whole, as it essentially ignored the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and tried to “erase” every inch of Greek island territory in the Aegean and the large island of Crete – ostensibly to delimitate maritime zones between two countries that do not face each other directly.
If accurate, the development would mark a significant rapprochement between east Libya’s de facto ruler, Gen. Khalifa Haftar, and Turkey, as the latter has backed the rival Tripoli government, including with military assistance.
The Bloomberg article, which was widely reproduced, quotes sources it identified as “people familiar with the matter.”
Ratification of the MoU would ostensibly open the way for Turkish interests to conduct hydrocarbon exploration and possible exploitation in sea regions claimed by Libya and Greece. Athens has repeatedly and vociferously emphasized that it considers the Turco-Libyan maritime deal as illegal and baseless. Under the agreement, the Libyan side ignores any continental shelf and EEZ impact of Crete, for instance, except the six nautical miles of sovereign territorial waters. Greece, conversely, points to a mid-line between Crete, and possibly the isle of Gavdos, and the North Africa shoreline, in line with UNCLOS.
Previous opposition by the Haftar-controlled administration blocked any consideration of a ratification.
In a telling development this week, a Turkish warship, the frigate Kinaliada, paid a courtesy visit to the eastern port city of Benghazi after first docking in rival Tripoli, where the Government of National Accord (GNA) is based.
Source: Tovima.com
