The memorandum, which was signed in the field of gas extraction and oil investment between Ankara and the Government of National Accord of Libya, brought many criticisms and reactions within Libya, at regional and the international level.

By signing the document, Turkey and Libya implement the 2019 agreement. According to the signed contract, joint Turkish and Libyan companies will carry out exploration activities and the Turkish fleet will start working. Following seismic surveys, drilling activities will begin in the area of ​​identified hydrocarbon reserves. The hydrocarbon agreement has a capacity equivalent to 30 trillion dollars. The current agreement includes the world’s richest hydrocarbon reserves.

According to the agreement, Turkish and Libyan companies will carry out joint exploration and drilling activities in sea and land areas. But it has not yet been determined whether those activities will be in Libyan waters or the waters claimed by Turkey.

The prospect of an agreement between Turkey and Libya under which Libya will grant energy exploration licenses to Turkish companies has worried Greece, and the country is expected to defend its sovereign rights under international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Negotiations between Greece and Libya to delimit the exclusive economic zone between the two countries based on the international law of the sea continued until early 2011, and much progress was made, but the negotiations were stopped due to the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime. In 2019, the then government of Tripoli started its cooperation with Turkey, which, according to Athens, was a clear violation of the fundamental rules of the international law, because the presence of Greek islands such as “Crete” was ignored in the delimitation of maritime areas. The aforementioned agreement was condemned by a number of countries, including EU member states.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Greece’s right to the continental shelf is reserved, the limits of which are defined by the median line in the absence of a bilateral agreement. Athens insists that the 2019 Turkey-Libya agreement is illegal, null and void, and therefore no one has the right to invoke it.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claims that third countries do not have the right to interfere in the memorandum of understanding signed between the two ruling countries. Turkey emphasizes that the statements of the spokespersons of Greece and the European Union have no importance and value for this country, because opposing this cooperation agreement between two independent countries is contrary to international law and basic principles of the United Nations.

Since a few years ago, the Turkish government has used crises and wars in Africa, including Libya, as a basis for sending military forces to that region and is trying to strengthen its foothold in that region militarily. One of the key reasons for Turkey’s presence in Libya is access to energy resources. Turkey is trying to get a share of the oil and gas reserves of the region by bypassing Greece and creating a water border in the east of the Mediterranean Sea.

Abdulhamid Debibeh, the Prime Minister of the interim Government of the Libyan National Accord, who defends the signing of the memorandum of understanding with Turkey, believes that ‘we have a real problem with some countries. A joint committee has been formed on the distance between Libya and Crete. It must be agreed to go to the International Court of Justice to resolve the disputes between the parties, otherwise the problem will remain. We have a dispute about the waters between Libya and Crete. They were the ones who started the exploratory activity and we said that we will not allow such a thing. With the cooperation of our friends, we will defend our right, the right of Libya, in the southern waters of Crete and the Mediterranean. I am not the one who will give Libya’s share to another country.’

Meanwhile, Fathi Bashagha, the Prime Minister of the government appointed by the Tobruk Parliament, announced his opposition to this memorandum and claimed that his government will give an appropriate response to those aggressions. “Aqila Saleh”, the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament and a figure close to Egypt, also believes that any agreement made with the national unity government is unacceptable and illegal because that government has no authority and is illegitimate since December 2021. The Libyan parliament, which is based in the east of the country and supports the government of Fathi Bashagha, has expressed its objection to that agreement.

From the point of view of the US officials, according to the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) roadmap, the Libyan interim government is obliged to avoid reviewing new agreements that harm the stability of Libya’s foreign relations or create long-term obligations. The United States has invited the parties to refrain from actions that increase tension in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Germany also does not recognize the memorandum of understanding signed between Turkey and Libya regarding the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone between the two countries. From Germany’s point of view, in principle and based on the fundamental principles of international law, two countries cannot sign agreements against third countries. The European Commission has not accepted the legality of the memorandum signed between Turkey and Libya. Egypt has also emphasized that the government based in Tripoli does not have the necessary authority to sign any international agreement.