Libyan MP’s Reject Energy Agreement with Turkey

On Tuesday, 90 members of the Libyan Parliament expressed their “rejection and strong condemnation of the signing of vague memorandums of understanding between the outgoing Government of National Unity (GNU) headed by Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba and Turkey.”

The MP’s referred to the political agreement, which “prohibits the government from signing any agreements or treaties during the transitional stage.”

They said that “what the Dbaiba government had done did not impose any current or future obligations on the Libyan state, as it was done with a non-relevant party.”

They explained that the “signing of the MoU is an attack on the wealth of the Libyan people at this difficult stage.” As well as calling on Turkey to “respect the sovereignty of the Libyan state, and not to interfere negatively by supporting a political party at the expense of the Libyan people.”

In a statement, the Energy and Natural Resources Parliamentary Committee confirmed that the GNU’s “mandate has ended and it has no longer a legal authorization to broker any international deals.”

The committee added that the “signing of the agreement with Turkey is illegal, and not binding for the Libyan state, as it was signed by a non-eligible party.”

It also rejected “such individual actions by the outgoing government, which seeks to stay in power at the expense of the capabilities of the Libyan people.”

The committee urged “international partners not to deal with the Dbaiba government as it lacks legitimacy and legal eligibility and does not represent the Libyan people.”

It explained that the GNU has no control over Cyrenaica and Fezzan, but rather is “trying to drag the country into a dead-end.”

Notably, Libya and Turkey signed several economic agreements that included potential energy exploration in maritime areas, Mevlut Cavusoğlu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister said.

The agreements will allow for oil and gas exploration in Libyan waters. This comes three years after the two countries signed a maritime border deal.

Speaking at a ceremony in Tripoli, Cavusoğlu and Libyan Foreign Minister, Najla Al-Mangoush said they had signed memorandums aimed at benefiting both countries.

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