The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has come out in defense of the recent maritime agreement validated last week with the two rival administrations operating in Libya, presenting it as an understanding that responds to Turkish national interest. At the same time, he has emphasized, in the face of criticism from the European Union, that Ankara does not intend to harm any Eastern Mediterranean state.
"We are not trying to score a goal against anyone in the Mediterranean. We simply care about protecting our maritime jurisdictional rights and interests," the Turkish leader has stated, after Brussels insisted that this pact seems "null and void" to them. Greece, one of the countries considered most affected, has questioned the very basis of the memorandum by recalling that Libya and Turkey lack adjacent or opposite coasts.
On Tuesday, the Parliament of Tobruk, which represents the authorities of eastern Libya, gave the green light to the memorandum of understanding signed in 2019 between Turkey and the then Government of Tripoli, the rival administration recognized by the international community. Until now, the eastern bloc had rejected this text for having been negotiated without their participation.
This parliamentary endorsement marks a shift in the ties between Ankara and the eastern Libyan authorities, led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, after years of political tensions. In parallel, the Tobruk Chamber has communicated the annulment of a 2020 resolution with which it had frozen its political ties with Turkey.
In this context, Erdogan has applauded both the ratification of the memorandum and the reestablishment of contacts with the east of the country, emphasizing that Turkey "is a country that does not want to see either division or discord in Libya" and calling on the European Union to lower the tone of its reproaches and adopt a "constructive relationship" with Ankara on this matter, based on respect for Turkish interests.
"In politics and foreign relations," Erdogan concluded, "our only guide is the interests of Turkey: even if it involves paying a price, we will never hesitate to do what is right and beneficial for Turkey and the Turkish nation," he stated in a televised speech to the country after the meeting of the Council of Ministers held this Monday.