A decision by the Libyan House of Representatives, and one linked to Gen. Khalifa Haftar, to set up a technical committee to study and possibly approve the contentious Libya (GNA)–Turkey maritime deal has raised eyebrows across the east Mediterranean, with its possible repercussions felt across the wider region.
EU member-state Greece has ridiculed and vilified the attempt to delimitate maritime exclusive economic zones (EEZs) between the two disparate countries lying on opposite coasts of the Mediterranean, pointing out that international maritime law was flatly trampled in the process.
Among others, large islands, such as Rhodes and Crete, as well as sovereign Cyprus, were essentially “erased” for the maps presented by the then provisional government based in Tripoli and an increasingly revisionist and exceptionalist-minded Ankara.
The memorandum was signed in late November 2019 by Turkey and Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) under then head of government Fayez al-Sarraj.
Nevertheless, the agreement was never ratified by Libya’s parliament, a factor that comprises a key argument – beyond its violation of UNCLOS – over its baselessness. A Libyan appeals court in Al-Bayda subsequently annulled the agreement in November 2019, while the Tobruk Parliament, under Haftar’s control, had denounced the memorandum as illegal.
Hints of a change in policy
The Libyan legislature in the east, which until recently viewed the agreement in a negative light, now appears to be changing course. The decision to set up a technical committee marks a major political shift, something that has attracted the attention of Athens and other regional powers.
According to “Libya watchers”, the apparent shift is linked to the intensifying diplomatic contacts between Turkey and east Libya, Gen. Haftar’s stronghold. In April 2025, Gen. Haftar’s son, Saddam Haftar, who holds the position of chief of staff of the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) ground forces visited Ankara at the invitation of the Turkish army chief of staff. Earlier, Haftar’s other son, Belgacem Haftar, had visited Turkey in his position as director general of the Libyan Development Fund, where he expressed satisfaction with the progress in the energy sector.
On its part, Greece’s foreign ministry has repeatedly stressed that the agreement violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) by ignoring the existence of numerous Greek islands and has no legal force, as it has not been approved by the Libyan parliament.
According to reports, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis is planning a visit to Tripoli, in a bid to convey the importance of relations with Libya, to deflect further developments over what it considers the illegal Turkish-Libyan deal, as well as to seek solutions to the increasing problem of illegal migrant trafficking from the North Africa coast to Crete. However, a recent religious holiday in that country and even armed clashes in the Libyan capital between rival groups delayed the visit by Greece’s top diplomat.
Finally, Libyan media recently reported that Greece’s ambassador to Libya, Nikos Garilidis, met with the country’s acting foreign minister, Al-Taher Al-Baour, to review bilateral relations and reinforce efforts for political stability in the country.
