Libya’s eastern parliament ratifies 2019 maritime boundary pact with Türkiye

The vote revives a key agreement with Ankara and reverses the Haftar-aligned parliament’s 2020 boycott.

Published On 20 Oct 202620 Oct 2026

Libya’s eastern-based parliament, backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar and operating as an alternative to the UN-recognised legislature in Tripoli, has approved a maritime boundary agreement with Türkiye, ending years of hostility between the sides.

Haftar’s government in Benghazi said on Tuesday that the Tobruk-based House of Representatives unanimously approved the 2019 memorandum of understanding between Türkiye and Libya’s former UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). The agreement delineated the two countries’ maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean.

Specialised committees gave lawmakers a detailed briefing on the agreement’s provisions, lawmaker Aisha al-Tabalqi told Reuters.

The vote came six years after the same parliament unanimously rejected the agreement’s ratification in 2020 and severed political ties with Ankara.

A strategic reversal

The reversal reinforces a broader shift that has been under way since last year, built on Ankara’s growing military contacts with Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA). Those ties include a July agreement to develop military facilities and advanced surveillance systems.

The LNA, which is widely believed to have the backing of Egypt and other regional powers, has fought forces loyal to the Tripoli-based government since the beginning of the Libyan civil war in 2014.

In 2019, Türkiye signed an agreement with the Tripoli-based government defining the maritime boundaries between the two countries in the Mediterranean, prompting protests from Greece and Cyprus.

Both European countries condemned the agreement, describing it as a serious violation of international law that disregarded the rights of other eastern Mediterranean states.

“Some countries may be upset by this agreement, but what matters to us is our national interest,” said Tarek al-Jeroushi, a lawmaker in the eastern-backed parliament. He added that the agreement would strengthen Libya’s standing as a political, military and economic partner to key powers.

In December 2019, Haftar’s LNA had nearly encircled Tripoli and was threatening to overrun the UN-recognised GNA, then led by Fayez al-Sarraj. Türkiye responded by sending military advisers and drones to support the Tripoli government, altering the course of the Libyan civil war.

Seven years later, discussions are under way about Türkiye establishing a military presence in areas controlled by Haftar’s LNA.

Ankara’s pivot toward the eastern authorities is intended to protect its long-term geopolitical and economic interests and preserve its influence in Libya regardless of any future political settlement between the Tripoli government and the eastern leadership.

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