Turkey’s energy deal with Libya suspended

A Libyan court has made a remarkable decision regarding the energy agreement signed between the government of Tripoli and Ankara last year for oil and gas exploration.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced that a memorandum of understanding was signed with Libya in the field of hydrocarbons last week, saying that Greece and other European Union member countries cannot interfere with this agreement. The agreement signed at a time when tensions were high on the Ankara-Athens line sparked reactions in Europe, the European Commission’s Foreign Relations spokesman, Peter Spano, stating that the legality of the agreement between Turkey and Libya was not accepted.

While countries like France and Germany opposed the deal, harsh statements came from Greece and Egypt. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said: “This deal threatens security and stability in the Mediterranean,” while his Egyptian counterpart Semih Shukri pointed out that there are two separate administrations in Libya and argued that the Tripoli government You do not have the authority to sign such an agreement. an agreement.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HYDROCARBON RESOURCES IS INCREASING

As discussions of the deal continued, the Reuters news agency reported that a court in Libya had suspended the deal. The information that the agreement was suspended was given by a judicial source.

The deal covered oil and gas exploration by Libya and Turkey, but Egypt and Greece also have claims to the waters in question.

The hydrocarbons agreement between Libya and Turkey was a continuation of the agreement signed in 2019. Against this, Egypt and Greece signed the “delimitation of areas of maritime jurisdiction” agreement in 2020.

The hydrocarbon resources in Libya are becoming more important due to the rapid increase in energy prices in the world.