Libya’s eastern parliament approved its country’s maritime deal with Turkey on October 20, 2026, reversing years of opposition and drawing rejection from Greece. Reuters and AP reported the vote, which revives a dispute over boundaries and energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.
The House of Representatives voted unanimously for the memorandum signed in 2019 by Turkey and Libya’s former Government of National Accord, the Libyan News Agency reported. Spokesman Abdullah Bliheg said lawmakers also repealed two 2020 decisions rejecting ratification of agreements with Ankara and severing political ties.
The memorandum sets out continental shelf and exclusive economic zone boundaries using geographical coordinates, according to the Libyan agency. Reuters said Turkey’s support helped repel an attack on Tripoli by Khalifa Haftar’s forces in 2019–2020, but Ankara’s relations with eastern Libya have improved in recent years.
Greece’s foreign ministry said the vote did not change its view that the agreement violated international maritime law and other states’ sovereign rights. It argued that Turkey and Libya lacked opposite or adjacent coasts and that the memorandum ignored Greek islands’ maritime entitlements. These are Athens’ stated objections to the agreement.
Turkey’s foreign ministry welcomed the decision, saying the agreement respected both countries’ rights and interests under international law, Reuters reported. Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity also welcomed the vote. Its foreign ministry said the step could strengthen bilateral ties and regional cooperation, according to the Libyan agency.
The approval leaves competing regional positions unresolved. Reuters reported that Greece, Egypt and Cyprus have long opposed the deal, and that Athens and Cairo signed an overlapping maritime agreement in 2020. Greece said it had informed partners and allies and would take appropriate measures to protect its sovereign rights.
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