Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared that European Union objections to Turkey's maritime agreement with Libya have no legal basis. Speaking on Monday, October 26, following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdogan said the offshore boundaries accord protects the rights of both nations and demanded that their shared will be respected.
His remarks came after the House of Representatives, based in eastern Libya, voted unanimously on October 20, 2026, to approve the maritime delimitation pact. The vote reversed the eastern parliament's previous decision from 2020 to reject ratification and rescinded an earlier measure that had called for breaking off political ties with Turkey.
Erdogan seized on the parliamentary vote as a political victory, presenting the outcome as validation of Turkish claims across the Eastern Mediterranean. He described the endorsement by Libyan lawmakers as a major step toward establishing the legal rights of both countries, adding that the unanimous decision showed Libyan factions can put aside domestic political differences when national interests are at stake.
Reversal of the Libyan parliamentary vote
The maritime agreement was originally signed on November 27, 2019, between Turkey and Libya's former Government of National Accord, aiming to establish an official maritime boundary across the Mediterranean. At the time, eastern Libyan authorities strongly opposed the pact and moved to sever political engagement with Ankara.
Greece has consistently maintained that the boundary agreement violates the international Law of the Sea and infringes on Greek sovereign rights. The maritime corridor outlined in the accord cuts across areas of the Mediterranean where Greece claims exclusive rights around its islands, including Crete and Rhodes. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, inhabited islands generate their own continental shelves and exclusive economic zones, a framework that Ankara does not recognise.
Libya has remained politically divided between rival administrations in the eastern and western parts of the country since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. The eastern parliament's sudden reversal in ratifying the 2019 treaty marks a significant shift in relations between Turkey and factions in eastern Libya, which had previously aligned against Ankara's allies in the capital, Tripoli.
Calls for dialogue in the Eastern Mediterranean
Addressing his cabinet, Erdogan insisted that Ankara is not seeking confrontation in the Eastern Mediterranean, but rather the protection of its national rights and interests. He said Turkey was not trying to score a goal against any other nation, but instead sought to shield its lawful claims from foreign opposition.
The Turkish president asserted that regional disagreements must be handled through peaceful means and resolved through dialogue involving all coastal states. He called on the European Union and other regional powers to adopt what he termed the same constructive approach.
Erdogan also criticised external powers that he accused of attempting to push Turkey out of maritime areas. He stated that Turkey would continue discussions with all involved stakeholders, but warned that those attempting to exclude Ankara from the Eastern Mediterranean must respect the joint will of Turkey and Libya.
