Turkey-Libya Summit... "Recognition of Turkey's Claims in EEZ Dispute"

[Asia Economy Reporter Su-yeon Woo] The Prime Minister of the Libyan Interim Government, visiting Turkey, expressed his position to reaffirm the maritime jurisdiction agreement signed between the Libyan Unified Government and Turkey in 2019. This agreement mainly reflects Turkey's stance in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean between Turkey and Greece, which is expected to provoke strong opposition from Greece.

On the 12th (local time), the Turkish Presidential Office announced that Abdul-Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, Prime Minister of the Libyan Interim Government, and Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, President of Turkey, held talks in the capital Ankara.

Turkish President Erdogan (right) and Prime Minister Dbeiba of the Libyan Interim Government / Photo by Yonhap News

On that day, President Erdo?an said, "The agreement on maritime jurisdiction in the Mediterranean signed with Libya guarantees the future and interests of both countries," adding, "We will continue to support Libya's unification and reconstruction, including military assistance."

In response, Prime Minister Dbeibah said, "This agreement benefits the national interests of both Turkey and Libya," and emphasized, "It is important to start dialogue considering the interests of all parties."

The maritime jurisdiction agreement was signed in November 2019 between the Libyan Interim Government and the Turkish government. It accepted Turkey's claimed EEZ despite it encroaching on Greece's existing EEZ. Since then, Greece has strongly opposed the agreement between Turkey and Libya and expelled the Libyan ambassador stationed in Greece.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.