Egypt rejects Libyan approval of maritime deal with Turkey

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Egypt's Foreign Ministry ‌on Wednesday rejected the ​maritime ​boundaries deal that Libya's eastern parliament ratified with Turkey, saying in a statement that the ratification will have no legal impact on Cairo.

The deal approved on Tuesday is ‌part of a years-old dispute over competing claims to sea borders and energy ⁠exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

• "Egypt reaffirms that this memorandum is null and void ... possesses no legal effect," ‌Egypt's Foreign Ministry said

• Israel said on ‌Wednesday it "strongly" condemned the Libyan eastern parliament's approval, which also drew swift criticism from Greece

• "Regretfully, once again we see Turkey working to destabilise the east Mediterranean region," the Israeli ​Foreign Ministry said in a statement

• Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan rejected the criticism, saying the agreement was legitimate and that the Libyan parliament's ratification was simply a formality as ⁠the deal was already in effect for Ankara.

• "There are countries reacting to this. We know why they are reacting. Some are ​doing so because they need to, some really do have strategic problems with this issue. However, this is an entirely legitimate deal, both from a ​legal and a statutory perspective. There is no need ‌to argue this," Fidan told state media in Brussels

• A statement by the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas issued later said: "The EU has ⁠a strategic interest in a stable and secure environment in the Eastern Mediterranean and urges all countries to respect the sovereign rights of all Member States, in accordance with EU and international law, including ⁠the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea"

• The Libya-Turkey maritime deal was originally agreed in ​2019 by Libya’s internationally recognised government in Tripoli in the west, but the rival eastern administration had withheld its approval for years

• Greece, Egypt and Cyprus have long been opposed to a maritime-boundaries deal between Libya ‌and Turkey, as they see it as an infringement on their own maritime claims.

• The Greek Ambassador to the United Nations, Aglaia Balta, ‌briefed the UN Security Council about the issue on Wednesday, arguing it would impact security and stability ⁠in the eastern Mediterranean, said Greek ‌diplomatic sources.

(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah and ​Menna Alaa ElDin; Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara, Sudip Kar-Gupta in Brussels and Renee Maltezou in Athens; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Xevi Fontdegloria, ‌Toby Chopra)

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