Following France, Egypt and Greece also reacted to the hydrocarbon agreement signed between Turkey and Libya on Sunday.
The foreign ministers of Egypt and Greece claimed that the agreement was “illegal” at a press conference in Egypt’s capital, Cairo.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said that “This agreement threatens security and stability in the Mediterranean,” and that they will do their best within the legal framework to oppose the agreement.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sami Shukri pointed out the division between the parliament in Tobruk and different institutions affiliated to the government in the capital Tripoli, and stated that the Tripoli administration did not have the authority to sign such an agreement.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the other hand, previously claimed that this agreement “contrary to international law of the sea”.
EU spokesman Peter Stano also pointed out the 2019 Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding in his statement last week and said, “The 2019 Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding violates the sovereignty rights of third states, is against the law of the sea and cannot have any legal consequences for third states.”
He stressed that the details of the new hydrocarbon agreement should be revealed.
The hydrocarbon agreement between Libya and Turkey was signed as an extension of the agreement in 2019.
During his visit to Tripoli, the capital of Libya, on Monday, 3 October, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced that a memorandum of understanding was signed between Turkey and Libya in the field of hydrocarbons.
Çavuşoğlu stated, “The hydrocarbon agreement we have just signed aims to cooperate with Turkish and Libyan companies, such as exploration and drilling, with a win-win understanding both on land and at sea and in our jurisdictions,” but did not give clear information on the details of the agreement.
The memorandum of understanding on the maritime jurisdiction area delimitation, signed between Turkey and Libya on November 27, 2019, drew the reaction of other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Hydrocarbon is one of the main components of oil and natural gas.
As energy prices increase in the world, access to hydrocarbon resources in Libya becomes more important.