Libya's eastern parliament on Tuesday backed a maritime deal with Turkey which will bring strategic advantages in economic, political and national security affairs, two lawmakers told Reuters, overturning a 2020 decision to cut political ties with Ankara. Control of Libya is split between rival western and eastern administrations, with the east under military commander Khalifa Haftar; Turkey has in the past been a major backer of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west. The maritime deal, covering claims in the eastern Mediterranean, had been agreed with Turkey in 2019 by the GNA but was rejected by authorities in eastern Libya, sparking the boycott, and in Egypt and Greece.

The eastern-based House of Representatives in Benghazi approved the 2019 maritime jurisdiction memorandum unanimously, parliament spokesman Abdullah Bliheq said, annulling Resolution No. 1 of 2020, which rejected the two memorandums signed with Turkey, and Resolution No. 6, which called for severing political ties with Ankara; the announcement did not describe an amended treaty or any new maritime boundary, Bosphorus News reported. The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity's Foreign Ministry welcomed the vote, and Presidential Council Vice Chairman Musa al-Koni supported the decision and urged direct contacts between the eastern parliament and Turkish officials. The same day, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah in Tripoli, where, Libya's official news agency LANA said, they discussed the political process, security and regional affairs, along with coordination among Libya, Turkey, Italy and Qatar on irregular migration.

Libyan lawmaker Tarek al-Jeroushi told Reuters the agreement would strengthen Libya's position as a political, military and economic partner to major powers. "Some countries may be upset by this agreement, but what matters to us is our national interest," he said. Lawmaker Aisha al-Tabalqi said it was approved after specialised committees presented a full and detailed explanation of its provisions. Saddam Haftar, deputy to Khalifa Haftar, welcomed the approval in a statement, calling the deal "a tool that can help protect Libya's rights and economic interests in the Mediterranean." The move marks a "complete reversal" which "reveals the depth of the relationship between Ankara and Benghazi today," said Anas El Gomati, head of the Libyan think tank the Sadeq Institute, while Jalel Harchaoui, a contributor to Britain's Royal United Services Institute, said the vote could open the way to an expanded Turkish military presence in the east and called the ratification a "watershed."

Greece condemned the approval. In a foreign ministry statement reported by Reuters, Athens said the deal "remains illegal, null and void, contravenes international law of the sea, and infringes upon the sovereign rights of states in the region," and called on the Libyan side to refrain from any action that contravenes international law and undermines stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey's foreign ministry welcomed the decision, saying the agreement respected the mutual rights and interests of both countries under international law and the principles of equity, and that Turkey would keep working with partners for security, stability and peace in the Mediterranean. The memorandum was originally signed in Istanbul on November 27, 2019; the UN Treaty Collection lists December 8, 2019 as its entry-into-force date. Athens and Cairo signed an overlapping deal designating an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean in 2020, which Turkey opposes, and Greece last year approved hydrocarbon exploration for a consortium led by US major Chevron south of Crete, which Ankara condemned as unlawful — leaving the competing claims unresolved despite Tuesday's vote.

Sources: Reuters; Bosphorus News; Libyan News Agency (LANA); Greek and Turkish foreign ministry statements.