Foreign minister Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Dönmez, Minister of National Defence Hulusi Akar, Minister of Trade Mehmet Muş, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun and Presidency Spokesperson Ambassador İbrahim Kalın paid an official visit to Libya.
Foreign Ministry made a statement before the visit and said that the political transition process in Libya and the elections in this context, the review of bilateral relations, including military training co-operation, and the exchange of views on regional issues were envisaged.
For this reason, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu’s statement over a signature between Turkiye and Libya in the field of hydrocarbons came as a surprise. “I hope we return by signing a memorandum of understanding in the gas field,” Çavuşoğlu said and added that the details of the gas agreement would be announced after the signatures, emphasising that the deal is being negotiated between energy ministers. Çavuşoğlu reminded that the maritime authorisation agreement was signed between two sovereign countries and said, “This agreement is an agreement in force. Turkiye and Libya have informed the UN that we have signed such an agreement. The UN is not a ratification mechanism. We, as Turkiye, made a statement. We also registered the borders of our continental shelf with the UN. Now, Libya must determine its own areas and register them with the UN.”
Çavuşoğlu also underlined that this agreement is an agreement that secures the interests of the two countries. Çavuşoğlu added that the consulate in Benghazi would be opened after the conditions mature.
The agreement would award an exploration licence to Turkish companies. Greece claims that the maritime border deal between the two countries is controversial. The Greek Foreign Ministry believes that such an agreement between Libya and Turkey violates the 2020 deal Greece signed with Egypt to designate the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Greece brought the issue to the attention of French Ambassador to Greece Patrick Maisonnave, the Foreign Ministry tweeted.
