TRIPOLI: Turkey's foreign minister signed a deal in Libya's capital on Monday allowing for oil and gas exploration in Libya's Mediterranean waters, three years after a maritime border deal that angered European nations.
"We've signed a memorandum of understanding on exploration for hydrocarbons in Libya's territorial waters and on Libyan soil, by mixed Turkish-Libyan companies," Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a press conference in Tripoli.
The deal follows an agreement Turkey signed with authorities in Tripoli in 2019, which demarcated the countries' shared maritime borders but sparked anger in Greece and Cyprus.
Cavusoglu however stressed on Monday that the new accord was between "two sovereign countries -- it's win-win for both, and other countries have no right to interfere".
Najla al Mangoush, Foreign Minister in Libya's Government of National Unity, said the new deal was "important", especially in light of "the Ukrainian crisis and its repercussions" for energy markets.
The deal was rejected by a rival administration in the war-torn country's east. Turkey had signed a controversial security agreement in November 2019 with Libya's UN-recognised government at the time, laying claim to extensive, potentially gas-rich areas of the Mediterranean.
The deal came at the height of a year-long battle between rival governments vying for control of Libya's capital.
The arrival of Turkish drones shortly afterwards was seen as crucial in the victory of Tripoli-based forces against those of eastern military chief Khalifa Haftar.
Turkey continues to play a major role in Libya's west, where rival governments are again struggling for control two years after the end of the last major conflict. - AFP
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