An appellate-level court in the Libyan capital of Tripoli has reportedly ruled that a high-profile Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2022 between an outgoing government in the country and Turkey, regarding hydrocarbon exploitation, must be cancelled.
The deal was seen at the time as another step towards cementing Ankara’s “strong arm” involvement in the exploration, exploitation, production, manufacturing and marketing of hydrocarbons (oil and natural gas) in Libya and the latter’s territorial waters by dealing with only a pro-Turkish faction of the political system in the North African country.
However, the president of the Libyan House of Representatives and a government appointed by the Libyan Presidential Council bitterly criticized the MoU, charging that the head of the al-Dabaiba government was not authorized to sign any agreements that include long-term obligations on the Libyan state.
The Greek government, along with Egypt and the EU, expressed outrage at the time over the agreement, which they charged violated the sovereign rights of other countries, breached statutes of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and threatened regional stability.
