LIBYA · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —The country Libya is an oil-rich North African country on the Mediterranean, split between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli and an eastern camp under Khalifa Haftar.
- —What happened Libya’s eastern House of Representatives voted unanimously to approve the Libya Turkey maritime deal of 2019, spokesman Abdullah Blihaq announced on Tuesday 20 October.
- —The deal Turkey and Libya’s then Tripoli government signed the memorandum on 27 November 2019 to set sea areas in the Mediterranean, including the continental shelf.
- —The reversal The House also repealed Resolution No. 1 of 2020, which rejected the memoranda, and Resolution No. 6, which cut ties with Turkey.
- —Greece’s answer Greece’s Foreign Ministry called the memorandum illegal, null and void on Tuesday 20 October and promised measures to protect its sovereign rights.
- —The US angle US oil company Chevron is preparing to explore south of Crete, in waters Libya says are not agreed with Greece, the Libya Observer reported.
- —Still open No steps to put the memorandum into effect were announced, and the House statement gave no vote count.
The Libya Turkey maritime deal won the backing of Libya’s eastern parliament, which voted unanimously to approve a 2019 memorandum on sea boundaries with Ankara. House of Representatives spokesman Abdullah Blihaq announced the result, and the Libyan news site Al-Wasat reported it on Tuesday 20 October.
US readers should note that Greece called it illegal within hours, and US oil company Chevron plans to explore in disputed waters south of Crete. It also reverses a 2020 decision by the same parliament to cut political ties with Turkey.
What Libya’s Parliament Approved
The House of Representatives, the parliament in eastern Libya, voted to approve the Libya Turkey maritime deal, a memorandum on Mediterranean sea areas. Al-Wasat reported that the vote was unanimous, and the Libya Observer said the House announced it in a statement on its website.
The House also voted unanimously to repeal two decisions it took in 2020. Resolution No. 1 rejected two memoranda between Tripoli and Turkey, and Resolution No. 6 severed political relations with Ankara.
How the 2019 Memorandum Began
On 27 November 2019, Turkey and the Government of National Accord (GNA), then the UN-recognised administration in Tripoli, signed two memoranda in Istanbul. Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj led the GNA, which the current unity government replaced in 2021, and the Libya Turkey maritime deal dates from his term.
One memorandum covered security and military cooperation, and the other set out maritime jurisdiction areas, including the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone. An exclusive economic zone is sea up to 200 nautical miles from a coast, where a country holds rights to fish and drill.
Why the East Reversed Course
In 2020 the House declared the memoranda void, arguing that agreements signed by a government need parliamentary ratification. It did so amid sharp disputes between Libya’s rival authorities over ties with Ankara, the Libya Observer noted.
The House now sits under Speaker Al-Salheen Abdel-Nabi, who was elected on Tuesday 6 October, as the Rio Times reported. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Khalifa Haftar, who commands the eastern Libyan National Army, in Benghazi in August 2026, according to Al-Monitor.
Greece Calls the Vote Illegal
Greece’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday 20 October that the memorandum is illegal, null and void, according to Keep Talking Greece. It argued that Turkey and Libya have no opposite or adjacent coasts, so the memorandum has no legal basis for a sea border.
Athens said the memorandum ignores the sea rights of Greek islands and that it has informed its partners and allies. It promised all appropriate measures to protect its sovereign rights and urged Libya to avoid actions that undermine stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Chevron and the Waters South of Crete
The Libya Observer reported on Thursday 15 October, citing Greece’s Proto Thema, that Libya warned Athens its drilling south of Crete could end boundary talks. Libya sent Athens a note in August objecting to a Greek tender for seismic surveys.
The note said the work violated Libya’s continental shelf claims at the United Nations, and the report named US company Chevron as preparing to explore. Greek diplomatic sources rejected Libya’s claims as lacking a legal basis and said boundary talks continue.
What It Means for US Readers
American energy companies in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Chevron south of Crete, now face a sharper dispute over who controls the seabed. Firms planning surveys near the disputed lines should expect more legal and diplomatic friction.
Greece and Turkey are both NATO allies of the United States, so a fight over Mediterranean waters complicates Washington’s task. The vote also lands while US adviser Massad Boulos pushes a power-sharing plan for Libya, as the Rio Times explained.
What Is Not Known
The House statement gave no details on how the memorandum will be put into effect, and no date for any follow-up step. It also gave no vote count for the unanimous decision on the Libya Turkey maritime deal.
Egypt and Cyprus objected to the deal in 2019, and their response to the new vote is open. It is also open whether Chevron’s planned work south of Crete will go ahead on schedule.
More: Libya news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Libya’s parliament approve?
The eastern House of Representatives voted unanimously to approve the 2019 memorandum with Turkey on maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean. It also repealed two 2020 decisions that had rejected the deal and cut ties with Ankara.
Who signed the original memorandum?
Turkey and Libya’s Government of National Accord, led by Fayez al-Sarraj, signed it in Istanbul on 27 November 2019. The Libya Turkey maritime deal sits alongside a separate security and military memorandum signed the same day.
Why does Greece object?
Greece says the memorandum is illegal, null and void because Turkey and Libya have no opposite or adjacent coasts. It also says the text ignores the sea rights of Greek islands.
How could the vote affect US companies?
Chevron is preparing to explore south of Crete, in waters Libya says are not agreed with Greece, the Libya Observer reported. A harder dispute over the Libya Turkey maritime deal could raise legal and political risk for such work.
Does the vote end Libya’s split?
No. Libya still has rival governments in Tripoli and the east, and the vote came from the eastern parliament.
Sources: Al-Wasat (Libya), 20 October 2026; Libya Observer, 20 October 2026; Libya Observer, 15 October 2026; Keep Talking Greece, 20 October 2026; Al-Monitor, 20 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief