$100 Billion Turkish Corridor: Eastern Libya Ratifies Sea Deal

Eastern Libya’s parliament voted unanimously on Tuesday to ratify a maritime boundary agreement with Turkey, formalizing a sea corridor that Ankara and Tripoli describe as a direct economic link. The vote reverses the position taken by the eastern government in 2019, when it opposed a deal struck between Turkey and the UN-recognized Government of National Accord in the west. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry immediately welcomed the decision, signaling a consolidation of ties with the rival power in the east.

The corridor connects Turkey’s southern coastline with Libya’s northern coast. Recent geological surveys indicate that the seabed within this zone contains natural gas reserves valued at several hundred billion US dollars. Both governments aim to secure their respective economic rights to these deposits and proceed with joint exploitation. The financial stakes are high, as the area represents one of the largest untapped energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean.

Athens has objected to the corridor, arguing that it bypasses Greek islands including Crete, Karpathos, and Rhodes. Greece’s Foreign Ministry stated on X that it firmly rejects the accord with the support of the European Union. The EU has described the memorandum as null and void, claiming it violates the sovereign rights of third states and conflicts with international law. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, echoed this view, writing that the Libyan vote infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states.

The legal dispute centers on the application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Greece relies on Article 121, which grants inhabited islands that support their own economic life the same exclusive economic zone rights as mainland territory. Athens points to a 2022 International Court of Justice ruling in the Colombia-Nicaragua case, which established that overlapping maritime claims require fair demarcation based on coastlines and geography. Turkey, which has not signed the convention, argues that Mediterranean geography warrants special consideration. Ankara contends that granting full exclusive economic zones to every small Greek island would effectively cut Turkey off from the open sea.

Political dynamics in Libya have shifted since 2019, when civil war led Turkey to intervene militarily on behalf of the Tripoli government. Since then, a diplomatic rapprochement has developed between Turkey and the camp of General Khalifa Hifter, who leads the eastern forces. Turkish firms have secured reconstruction contracts worth billions of dollars, and the state oil company TPAO is collaborating with Libya’s National Oil Corporation on seismic surveys. Turkey also supplies weapons and training to Hifter’s forces, countering Egyptian and Russian influence in the region.

The new corridor directly intersects with the planned EastMed pipeline, a project designed to transport gas from Israel and Cyprus through Greece to the EU. Turkey has long argued that any cable or pipeline construction on its claimed continental shelf requires its consent. The ratification of this agreement increases the likelihood of a split in the region, potentially dividing the eastern Mediterranean into two competing blocs: a Turkey-Libya axis and an EU-supported grouping including Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel.