The Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister, Ahmet Yildiz expected that the Libyan lawsuit to cancel a hydrocarbon agreement would fail.
He pointed out that no decision has been reached in the ongoing lawsuit against the agreement.
During a televised interview, Yildiz emphasised that “numerous hydrocarbon agreements have been signed with many countries, and it is unclear why there is such objection and protest against this specific agreement. It is crucial, especially at this time, to reassess Libyan resources to maintain Libya’s influence in the global energy sector.”
He stressed the need for an agreement on election laws, enabling everyone to accept election results, and initiate the process of rectifying mistakes.
Yildiz clarified that, “the points of disagreement in election laws are not insurmountable, and that Turkey is willing to help and coordinate on election laws based on its own experience.”
He mentioned that disputes over election laws can be resolved through consensus between the Libyan Parliament, and the High Council of State (HCS). “Elections are the source of legitimacy, and the Libyan parties must work with sincerity. Our goal for military coordination in Libya is to create a unified army, under legitimate authority. We are also interested in the success of our political and military work in Libya, to reach elections and a unified army.”
In January, former Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced that the Libyan government informed Turkey that it supported the hydrocarbon agreement.
Regarding the decision of a court in Tripoli to suspend the execution of the agreement, Çavuşoğlu stated that they immediately contacted the Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba.
“The text is a memorandum of understanding just like the memorandums of understanding that Libya signed with other countries. It does not need to be passed by the Parliament in Libya. The court has decided to stay the execution. After all, this is a decision, not a final verdict. The government is behind the agreement, and they said they are doing the necessary work. After all, this cooperation agreement is extremely important for them as the Libyan government and the state. They said they were behind it and would follow it closely,” Çavuşoğlu said.
Earlier in January, the Tripoli Court of Appeal ruled to suspend the implementation of the Libyan-Turkish memorandum of understanding, on oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean.
This came after five lawyers had appealed against the agreement. They argued that the 2015 Libyan Political Agreement “prevents the Dbaiba government from concluding any international agreements.”
They pointed out that the agreement violates many items of the oil law, most notably the lack of Turkish companies’ experience in this field. As well as “violated the State Audit Bureau law in controlling public funds. As well as the state finance law of 2008, regarding the management of state funds.”