The maritime authorization deal struck between Türkiye and the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya guarantees the latter’s naval and economic rights in the Mediterranean Sea, according to Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah.

"Libya has taken its economic right with this deal," Dbeibah said Sunday in an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hades television channel, referring to the November 2019 agreement between Ankara and his Tripoli-based government on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean, where they share a border.

"This deal is the right of Libyans, and no other state or person can ever seize it. We desire general coordination and all nations to consent to it," Dbeibah stressed.

His remarks came at a period when tensions with Libya’s other Mediterranean neighbor Egypt are also rising. In a Dec. 11 decision, Cairo unilaterally demarcated its western maritime borders with nine geographic coordinates.

Cairo’s decision drew the ire of its neighbor, who rejected the one-sided declaration, arguing that Egypt’s boundary claims violated Libya’s continental shelf rights, as it was removed west of the median line between the mainland coasts of those two countries.

Ankara also urged dialogue and negotiations between the rival nations to resolve the dispute. Multiple diplomatic sources said the boundary line was not agreed upon through bilateral negotiations, that Türkiye favored dialogue between the two "as soon as possible" for the delimitation of their boundary in line with international law and the application of all peaceful means as stipulated in Article 33 of the United Nations Charter, including the International Court of Justice, by mutual consent.

The Libyan Foreign Ministry too released a statement denouncing the Egyptian move. "This demarcation is unjust because it was unilaterally announced; it violates Libya's territorial integrity and principles of good faith and respect for sovereignty," it said.

Dbeibah reiterated Libya’s rejection of Egypt’s decision, saying, "Maritime borders, continental shelf deals cannot be one-sided. We wholly reject this move from Egypt."

The Libyan leader called for a commission to determine the maritime border between his country and Egypt. "We ask our Egyptian brothers to establish a bilateral commission and reach a consensus. The U.N. exists if there is no consensus. Nobody can make decisions on their own. If they think the Libyan side is weak, we reject it. If they’re friends and neighbors, we would gladly welcome this bilateral agreement," Dbeibah said.

Territorial feud

Maritime jurisdiction is a seemingly endless dispute between Libya and Egypt, as well as Türkiye and Greece, in the Mediterranean.

The 2019 pact between Libya and Türkiye was signed to provide a legal framework to prevent any fait accompli by regional states. Accordingly, attempts by the Greek government to appropriate huge parts of Libya’s continental shelf when a political crisis hit the North African country in 2011 were averted.

The agreement also confirmed that Türkiye and Libya are maritime neighbors, with the delimitation starting from Fethiye, Marmaris and Kaş on Türkiye’s southwestern coast and extending to the Derna-Tobruk-Bordia coastline of Libya.

In response, Egypt and Greece signed an agreement in August 2020, designating an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Türkiye had questioned the legitimacy of the Egypt-Greece agreement, vowing to keep the country's earlier-signed maritime pact with the Tripoli government in place.

Later in 2021, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu informed that Türkiye might negotiate a maritime demarcation agreement with Egypt in the Eastern Mediterranean, depending on the status of bilateral ties.

Most recently, Türkiye and Libya rebuked Greek criticism of their agreements on the delimitation of hydrocarbon and maritime jurisdiction areas, urging Athens to cease its baseless accusations, hostile rhetoric and escalatory actions and instead respect the sovereign decisions of the two countries in a letter jointly sent to the United Nations.

Türkiye and Libya's permanent representatives to the U.N., Feridun Sinirlioğlu and Taher el-Sonni, respectively, argued in the joint letter that the memorandum of understanding signed on Oct. 3, 2022, between the Government of National Unity in Libya and the Republic of Türkiye on cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons is "a legal instrument based on the principle of sovereign equality" and it "envisages the development of bilateral cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, both on land and at sea. Therefore, it is fully observant of principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among states."

In October 2022, three years after the maritime border deal, Ankara and the GNA in Tripoli inked preliminary economic agreements allowing oil and gas exploration in Libyan waters by mixed Turkish-Libyan companies. It aimed to benefit both countries and sparked criticism from the EU and Greece that the hydrocarbon deal could "potentially undermine regional stability."

After Athens permitted Exxon Mobil to start a gas-prospecting project off its southwestern coast in early November, Tripoli and Ankara decried Greece’s "irresponsible behavior" of striking a deal with international companies in the Libyan-Greek maritime borders.

"Greece is conducting exploration contracts in a disputed area in the south and southwest of the islands of Crete," the Libyan Foreign Ministry said following the news, vowing to take legal and diplomatic measures to defend Libya's rights and sovereignty in its maritime areas.

While the move sent tensions soaring even higher, Greece announced on Sunday plans to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles to the south and west of the island of Crete in March, according to local media, based on "favorable international and regional developments to gain the upper hand over the opposition" ahead of upcoming elections.

The move was also prompted by Egypt’s unilateral decision to restrict its borders with Libya, a local news outlet said. Athens’ decision would also significantly enable its broader regional strategy to curb Ankara and its influence over Libya.