Eastern Libya Parliament Approves Maritime Deal With Turkiye

Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives in Tobruk voted unanimously to approve a 2019 maritime boundary memorandum with Turkiye, lifting a boycott of Ankara imposed in 2020. Reuters The approval was reported on October 20, 2026. Al Jazeera

The chamber is aligned with commander Khalifa Haftar. The memorandum was signed in 2019 between Turkiye and Libya's then UN-recognised Government of National Accord, and deals with the delimitation of maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea. Delimitation means drawing the lines that define where each country's maritime zones lie.

The vote reverses the eastern parliament's earlier position. In 2020, the same body unanimously rejected ratification of the deal and cut political ties with Ankara. Its speaker had written in December 2019 to the UN secretary-general and the Arab League secretary-general arguing that the memorandum's boundary clause was invalid, and in January 2021 an appeals court in al-Bayda ruled to nullify decisions by the Presidency Council approving the agreement.

Eastern Libyan lawmaker Aisha al-Tabalqi said specialised committees presented a full and detailed explanation of the deal's provisions before the vote.

The reversal follows years of conflict between rival Libyan authorities. In December 2019, Haftar's Libyan National Army had nearly encircled Tripoli and threatened the Government of National Accord led by Fayez al-Sarraj, before Turkiye intervened with military advisers and drones in support of the Tripoli-based government. In July, Turkiye and Haftar's Libyan National Army reached a deal to develop military facilities and advanced surveillance systems.

The 2019 agreement has been opposed by other states in the region. Greece and Cyprus denounced it as a serious breach of international law that disregarded the rights of other eastern Mediterranean countries.