Kallas says Turkey-Libya maritime pact infringes third states’ sovereign rights
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas raised Libya’s ratification of the maritime agreement with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during talks in Brussels.
Brussels, Belgium. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday that the Turkey-Libya maritime agreement infringed third states’ sovereign rights, following talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Libya’s parliament had ratified the pact unanimously on Tuesday.
Maritime dispute and Cyprus talks
Reporting on what she described as extensive discussions covering several issues, Kallas said she had raised the Libyan vote with Fidan and stressed its implications for other states’ sovereign rights. She also underlined the importance of good relations between neighbours and progress towards a Cyprus settlement.
The agreement was originally signed in 2019 by Turkey and Libya’s internationally recognised government, some seven years before Tuesday’s parliamentary approval.
Greece and the Republic of Cyprus oppose the pact. They argue that islands have a right to a full exclusive economic zone and that Turkey and Libya therefore have no shared maritime boundary, with the waters concerned belonging to Cyprus and Crete. Turkey maintains that islands have no entitlement to a full EEZ.
EU leaders reject ratification
Before Wednesday’s meeting, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had expressed deep regret over the Libyan parliament’s decision.
They said the agreement violated other states’ sovereign rights, failed to conform to maritime law and had no legal validity.
Black Sea navigation and Russia’s war
Kallas said her talks with Fidan also covered what she described as Russia’s dangerous escalation in the Black Sea, where commercial ships have been subjected to missile attacks.
She said she had urged stronger pressure on Moscow to bring the war to an end. According to Kallas, both Turkey and the EU favour an arrangement safeguarding freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.
Middle East and south Caucasus
Kallas said the discussions also encompassed developments across the Middle East and in the south Caucasus.
She characterised Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia and Yemen as textbook examples of terrorist tactics and said they must stop. She also accused Iran of making shipping through the Strait of Hormuz unsafe and costly, calling for navigation to be made free again, without fees or tolls.
Fidan issued no statement following the talks.
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