Libyan media on Sunday were reporting that the North African country’s House of Representatives was moving towards a “unanimous” ratification this week of a controversial 2019 Turkey-Libya maritime accord, citing an unnamed deputy.
The report was first posted on X by the Libya Observer outlet.
The purported development comes as the agreement with Turkey signed by UN-recognized Government of National Unity, which holds sway in the country’s western half, remains unratified by the east Libya-based Government of National Stability (GNS) headed by Prime Minister Osama Hamad and backed by the House of Representatives (HoR) and the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) under the command of Gen. Khalifa Haftar.
The reports come only a few days after the Benghazi-based GNS negatively reacted to Greece’s tendering of maritime blocks south of Crete for hydrocarbon research and exploitation. At the time, the latter said the delimitation of maritime zones with Turkey was absolutely compatible with international law, and that Libya retains a right to a strong answer to any dispute of its sovereignty.
Greece, the EU and most third countries that have referred to the matter consider the Turko-Libyan agreement as illegal and contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
In aligning with Turkey’s “unique” and contrary to UNCLOS positions on maritime law and delimitation, the Libyan government in Tripoli ignored all Greek island territories, including the large island of Crete, from impacting on the delineation of exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in the central and eastern Mediterranean.
The Libyan House of Representatives is moving toward unanimous ratification of the 2009 #Libya–#Turkey Maritime Agreement, a lawmaker speaking on the condition of anonymity reveals.
The deal could be passed and voted on during a formal session this week, he adds. pic.twitter.com/RckBTqH8TE— The Libya Observer (@Lyobserver) June 29, 2025