ATHENS (Realist English). Greece is expected to urge Egypt to intervene diplomatically in a bid to dissuade eastern Libya, controlled by General Khalifa Haftar, from endorsing a maritime agreement with Turkey, Middle East Eye reports, citing sources familiar with the talks.
According to two regional officials, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis plans to raise the issue during a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Wednesday. The concern stems from indications that the Tobruk-based Libyan parliament may be reviewing the Turkey-Tripoli maritime demarcation deal signed in 2019 — a pact that Greece and Cyprus have long opposed for ignoring their exclusive economic zones around islands such as Crete and Rhodes.
Greece and Egypt responded to the Turkey-Libya accord by signing their own EEZ deal in 2020, a move that deepened fault lines in the eastern Mediterranean. Backed by Cairo and the UAE, Haftar’s administration had until recently opposed Turkish ambitions in Libya — making any potential alignment with Ankara a major strategic shift.
Analysts say such a development could consolidate Turkey’s influence across Libya’s rival governments, boost its maritime claims, and reignite tensions in a region where rival gas and infrastructure projects are already stalled due to unresolved disputes between Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and Turkey.
If eastern Libya were to ratify the maritime accord with Ankara, it could also embolden Syria’s Assad regime to strike a similar deal — one that recognizes Turkey’s claims near Northern Cyprus, the self-declared republic whose independence is recognized only by Ankara.
Haftar’s pivot toward Turkey comes after years of enmity. In 2019, Turkey intervened militarily to repel Haftar’s offensive on Tripoli. Today, the dynamic is changing. In April, Saddam Haftar, the general’s son and possible successor, made a landmark visit to Ankara, signaling a thaw in relations.
A Turkish official quoted by MEE said the Haftar family is seeking closer ties with the Turkish government but is unlikely to finalize any deal soon, preferring to keep it “in limbo.”
While the Libyan House of Representatives has formed a committee to review the 2019 Turkey-Tripoli agreement, analysts like Bilgehan Ozturk of GISR believe that any formal endorsement by the east would be a symbolic move aimed more at domestic relevance than real geopolitical change. “These are manoeuvres aimed at the internal power struggle,” he said.
Athens is particularly concerned that a Turkish breakthrough in Libya could unravel regional alignments forged when Egypt and Greece partnered against Ankara amid strained Turkish-Egyptian relations. Those tensions have eased in recent years, making Cairo’s potential role as a mediator more delicate — and more consequential.
A shift in Libya’s maritime stance could realign the eastern Mediterranean’s strategic map, complicating energy ambitions and reviving dormant disputes. For Greece, it’s not just about maritime borders — it’s about preventing a Turkish diplomatic and strategic win that could resonate across the region.
