Turkey-Libya energy deal clouds waters in East Mediterranean
An energy deal signed between Turkey and the Libyan administration of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Monday has brought a reaction from Greece, EU and Libya’s eastern-based parliament.
Turkey reacted angrily Tuesday to criticisms over the hydrocarbons accord it signed with Libya’s Tripoli-based government, which allows Turkish and Libyan companies to carry out joint explorations in the eastern Mediterranean.
The deal, whose details are yet undisclosed, has rekindled the dueling claims on maritime boundaries and gas and energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean, with Turkey and Libya on one side and Greece and Egypt on the other. It also adds to the long list of disputes between EU member Greece and EU candidate Turkey before the inaugural summit of the European Political Community (EPC), which brings together the EU-27 with 14 other European states, including Turkey.
Ankara shrugged off claims by Greece — and backed by the European Union — that the deal could destabilize the eastern Mediterranean.
“As far as Turkey is concerned, the statements made by the Greek and European Union spokesmen on the accord … bears no significance and value," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said Tuesday.
