Libya's House of Representatives based in Tobruk, the eastern legislature backed by General Khalifa Haftar that operates in parallel with the UN-recognized government in Tripoli, has unanimously voted to ratify the 2019 maritime agreement with Turkey. The decision was announced in a statement on Tuesday by Haftar's Benghazi administration, according to Reuters.
The approved deal is the 2019 memorandum of understanding between Turkey and the Government of National Accord (GNA) — the previous UN-recognized administration in Tripoli — on the delimitation of the two countries' maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean. Lawmaker Aisha al-Tabalqi said the relevant committees presented a full and detailed explanation of the agreement's provisions before the vote.
The move comes six years after the same House, in 2020, voted unanimously to reject ratification of the agreement and cut political ties with Ankara.
A strategic pivot
Reversing its earlier decisions reinforces a strategic shift that took shape last year, built on military contacts between Ankara and the Libyan National Army (LNA) that Haftar styles as his own, including a July agreement on developing military bases and modern surveillance systems.
The LNA has long been reported to receive support from Egypt and several regional powers, and has fought forces loyal to the Tripoli government since Libya's civil war erupted in 2014.
In 2019, Turkey signed the deal with the Tripoli administration to delimit the two countries' maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean, a move that drew objections from Greece and Cyprus. Both European countries condemned the agreement, calling it a serious violation of international law and an infringement on the rights of other Eastern Mediterranean states.
"Some countries may not be happy with this agreement, but what matters to us is the national interest," said Tarek al-Jeroushi, a lawmaker in the eastern legislature, adding that the deal would strengthen Libya's standing as a political, military and economic partner of major powers.
In December 2019, Haftar's LNA had all but encircled Tripoli, threatening to topple the GNA led by Fayez al-Sarraj, before Turkey decided to intervene, sending military advisers and drones to block the LNA and changing the course of Libya's civil war.
Seven years on, there have been reports of Ankara establishing a military presence in areas controlled by Haftar's LNA. The pivot toward the east is seen as aimed at securing Turkey's long-term geopolitical and economic interests and maintaining influence in Libya regardless of future political arrangements between the Tripoli authorities and eastern officials.
