Libya’s House of Representatives criticized Greece on Monday for urging Libyan authorities to cancel a maritime jurisdiction agreement signed with Türkiye, calling the appeal an interference in the country’s internal affairs.
In a statement carried on their Parliament’s website, deputy speaker Misbah Duma said remarks by Greek Parliament Speaker Nikitas Michail Kaklamanis were met with “astonishment and sadness,” describing them as repeated attempts to violate Libya’s sovereignty.
The House said Libya is a fully sovereign state that rejects any effort by foreign governments to shape its political decisions. “Agreements concluded by the state are sovereign decisions subject to international law and norms,” the statement said. “No country has the right to order Libya to ratify or revoke them.”
Duma said decisions over such matters come from Libyan institutions that represent the Libyan people, not from outside pressure. He also stressed that disputes over maritime boundaries should be resolved through international legal mechanisms, not “media statements lacking diplomacy.”
The statement urged Greece to “exercise restraint, respect Libya’s sovereignty and cease attempts to interfere in Libya’s internal affairs.”
Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper reported that Kaklamanis had called on Libya’s Parliament not to approve the 2019 Türkiye-Libya maritime memorandum and to move instead to cancel the deal.
In the fall of 2019, Türkiye and Libya signed a deal setting marine jurisdictions, rejecting unilateral and illegal activities by regional countries and international firms, and protecting the rights of both countries.
The deal was registered by the U.N. in October 2020.
Insisting on its maximalist claims, Athens has repeatedly claimed the deal is "invalid ... non-existing,” and systematically has pushed Libya to undo it.
Türkiye is a key actor in the region and seeks to expand its clout in Libya. Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın has recently paid a visit to the country, while Ankara also reached out to Haftar for more cooperation, marking a shift in its Libya policy.
Türkiye seeks the approval of the Tobruk-based parliament, aligned with Haftar, for a 2019 maritime delimitation deal with the U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli.
Greece and Egypt have reportedly lobbied Haftar against the agreement, citing competing claims in the Eastern Mediterranean and potential infringement on their maritime zones. The deal is seen by Ankara as a strategic win in asserting Türkiye’s rights in the region.
