Turkey, Libya sign maritime agreement

Libya’s internationally recognised government and Turkey have signed an agreement on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea that could complicate Ankara’s disputes over energy exploration with other countries.

Meanwhile, east Libya-based forces said their warplanes had attacked targets near oilfields in the southwest of the country on Thursday after fighting in the area briefly shut one field.

Mi-35 attack helicopters had struck at Chadian forces preparing to attack Sharara oilfield, Libya’s biggest, a Libyan National Army (LNA) military official said.

The Turkish government, which announced the accord and a deal on expanded security and military cooperation on Thursday, provided few details.

It did not say where the Turkish and Libyan maritime boundaries met but Turkish drilling in the eastern Mediterranean has angered Greek Cypriots, Athens and the European Union (EU).

The new agreements were signed at a meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Fayez Al Serraj, the head of the Tripoli-based government which Ankara is backing against a rival military force based in eastern Libya.

“This means protecting Turkey’s rights deriving from international law,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said of the memorandum of understanding on the “delimitation of maritime jurisdictions.”

He said that such accords could be agreed with other countries if differences could be overcome and that Ankara was in favour of “fair sharing” of resources, including off Cyprus.

“We are ready to do this working together with everyone, but if countries do not favour this that is their own preference.”

The internationally recognised government in Tripoli confirmed the new agreements but gave no details.

The LNA said the maritime accord was “illegitimate.” The foreign affairs committee of the eastern-based parliament called it “a flagrant violation of Libya’s security and sovereignty” and a threat to “peace and security in the Mediterranean sea.”

The Turkish presidency’s communications director Fahrettin Altun said in a tweet early on Thursday Ankara was confident that the military cooperation deal would improve security for Libyans.

Agencies