For six years, the lawmakers who sit in eastern Libya treated Turkey as an enemy. On Tuesday they reversed course in a single unanimous vote, endorsing the 2019 memorandum that Ankara signed with the then government in Tripoli to divide up stretches of sea between them.
The House of Representatives went further than a simple yes. It scrapped two resolutions from 2020: one that had declared the sea accord and a parallel security pact void, and one that had ordered political ties with Turkey cut. Spokesman Abdullah Bliheg announced the outcome but offered nothing on how the deal will be put into practice.
Behind the shift lies a quiet realignment. The chamber is aligned with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, whose forces once fought Turkish-backed troops near Tripoli. Since last year, however, Ankara has built direct military links with his camp, including a July agreement on bases and surveillance systems. Lawmaker Aisha al-Tabalqi said expert committees had walked members through every clause, and her colleague Tarek al-Jeroushi was blunt, saying Libya would put its own interest ahead of any foreign irritation.
Athens was upset within hours. Greek diplomats dismissed the text as having no legal force. In their reading, two countries without opposite shores cannot draw a common boundary, and the deal tramples on what Greek islands are owed. Egypt and Cyprus have long opposed it as well.
The stakes are gas fields, drilling rights and economic zones in an already tense corner of the sea. For Turkey, the vote delivers something rare in a divided Libya: friends on both sides.
