Egypt on Wednesday rejected the Libyan House of Representatives’ ratification of a 2019 maritime memorandum with Türkiye, saying the move has no legal effect on Cairo and reiterating its opposition to any action that conflicts with Egypt’s declared maritime boundaries.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Cairo continued to regard the memorandum, signed by the former government of Fayez Al-Sarraj and Türkiye, as “absolutely null and void”.
The ministry said the agreement, in Egypt’s view, violated principles of international maritime law and provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea governing exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
Cairo stressed that the memorandum infringed on what it considers its sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, and said the Libyan parliament’s ratification did not alter its legal position.
Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives unanimously approved the maritime agreement on Tuesday, reversing its previous opposition to the 2019 deal signed between Türkiye and Libya’s then internationally recognised Government of National Accord. The parliament also repealed two decisions issued in 2020 that had rejected the Turkish agreements and severed political ties with Ankara.
Libya remains divided between rival eastern and western administrations, with the east under the influence of military commander Khalifa Haftar. Türkiye had been a major supporter of the former Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, making the maritime accord a source of friction with eastern authorities before their recent rapprochement with Ankara.
The agreement sets out maritime claims in the eastern Mediterranean, where regional states have long disputed boundaries and rights to explore for energy resources. Egypt and Greece opposed the deal when it was signed in 2019, while Athens also rejected the Libyan parliament’s approval this week, saying the agreement violated international law and regional sovereign rights.