Eastern Libya parliament approves 2019 maritime deal with Turkiye

Libya's eastern-based parliament has approved a 2019 maritime delimitation agreement with Turkiye, marking a significant shift in relations between Ankara and the authorities aligned with Khalifa Haftar. The vote was announced on Tuesday by the Benghazi-based administration and was described as unanimous in the House of Representatives in Tobruk. It reverses the same parliament's 2020 rejection of the deal and its decision at the time to cut political ties with Ankara.

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According to the statement cited by lawmakers, specialised committees had presented a detailed explanation of the agreement's provisions before the vote. Lawmaker Aisha al-Tabalqi said the chamber had examined the text before approving it, while another lawmaker, Tarek al-Jeroushi, said some countries might be unhappy but Libya's national interest came first. The agreement is the 2019 memorandum of understanding signed between Turkiye and Libya's former UN-recognised Government of National Accord on the delimitation of maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea.

The decision matters because the same parliament had previously rejected the deal and severed ties with Ankara, making Tuesday's vote a formal reversal of that position. It also follows a period of military-to-military contacts between Turkiye and Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army, including a July deal to develop military facilities and advanced surveillance systems. Those contacts suggest a broader recalibration in eastern Libya's external relationships after years of confrontation.

The maritime agreement has long been politically sensitive in the eastern Mediterranean. When Turkiye signed the deal with the Tripoli-based government in 2019, Greece and Cyprus protested, saying it breached international law and ignored the rights of other eastern Mediterranean states. The dispute became part of a wider regional contest over maritime boundaries, energy interests and influence in Libya's fractured political landscape.

The approval also reflects the changing balance inside Libya itself. The eastern parliament operates as an alternative to the UN-recognised legislature in Tripoli and is backed by Haftar, whose forces have been in conflict with units loyal to the Tripoli-based government since the civil war began in 2014. In December 2019, Haftar's forces had nearly encircled Tripoli before Turkiye intervened with military advisers and drones to support the then-government.

What remains unclear is how quickly the approval will translate into practical legal or diplomatic steps, and whether it will alter the wider regional dispute over the maritime map. It is also not yet clear how other eastern Mediterranean states will respond to the reversal. For now, the vote signals a notable shift in eastern Libya's stance toward Turkiye and a possible deepening of cooperation between the two sides.

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