Libya Endorses Turkish Sea Corridor, Igniting Mediterranean Dispute

Ordinary citizens in the eastern Mediterranean may soon face shifting economic boundaries and heightened regional tension as a new maritime corridor comes into effect. On Tuesday, the Libyan parliament voted unanimously to approve a maritime agreement with Turkey. This decision establishes a direct economic link between the two nations. The move is expected to intensify friction with Greece, which views the new arrangement as a challenge to its established territorial claims.

The economic stakes are significant. The corridor connects the southern coast of Turkey with the northern coast of Libya. Recent discoveries in this zone include substantial oil and gas deposits. Estimates indicate that natural gas reserves under the seabed could be worth several hundred billion US dollars. Both Ankara and Tripoli aim to secure their rights to these resources and pursue joint exploitation. The agreement reverses the position taken by the eastern Libyan government in 2019, when it opposed a similar deal signed by the UN-recognized government in the west. Turkey's Foreign Ministry welcomed the latest vote.

The proposed corridor draws a line that ignores several Greek islands, including Crete, Rhodes, and Karpathos. Athens maintains that it possesses a comprehensive exclusive economic zone around these landmasses. The Greek Foreign Ministry announced its firm opposition on the social media platform X. It stated that the European Union supports this stance. Brussels has described the memorandum as null and void because it violates the sovereign rights of third states and conflicts with the Law of the Sea. Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, also weighed in. She noted that the Libyan vote infringes upon the sovereign rights of other nations.

The legal dispute centers on competing interpretations of maritime law. Greece relies on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Article 121 grants inhabited islands that support an economic life the same exclusive economic zone rights as mainland territory. Athens argues this applies to Crete, Rhodes, and Lesbos. It also cites a 2022 ruling by the International Court of Justice in a case involving Colombia and Nicaragua. That ruling held that overlapping interests require a fair demarcation based on coastlines and geography. Conversely, Turkey argues that the region's geography deserves special consideration. Ankara claims that granting full exclusive economic zones to every small Greek island would cut Turkey off from the open sea. Turkey has not signed the convention and does not accept arbitration by UN tribunals.

Political dynamics in Libya have shifted since the 2019 civil war. Turkey previously intervened militarily to support the Tripoli government against eastern General Khalifa Hifter. Since then, Ankara has pursued a diplomatic rapprochement with Hifter's camp. Turkish firms have secured billions of dollars in reconstruction contracts. The state oil company TPAO is collaborating with Libya's National Oil Corporation on seismic surveys. Turkey also provides weapons and training to Hifter's forces, countering Egyptian and Russian influence.

The new agreement also impacts the planned EastMed pipeline. This project was designed to transport gas from Israel and Cyprus through Greece to enhance EU energy security. The new corridor crosses the pipeline's intended route. Turkey argues that it must consent to any cable or pipeline projects on its claimed continental shelf. In the long term, the region risks splitting into two distinct blocs. One axis would align Turkey and Libya. The other would group Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel with EU support.