ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s parliament on Thursday endorsed a controversial deal on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean reached between Turkey and Libya's U.N.-supported government. Legislators approved the agreement which would give Turkey access to an economic zone across the Mediterranean, brushing aside objections by Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and the rival and competing power base in Libya. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the agreement last week with Libya's Tripoli-based government, led by Fayez Sarraj, which controls parts of the country's west. Greece, Cyprus and Egypt have also criticized the boundary agreement, calling it a serious breach of international law. The deal has added tension to an ongoing dispute with Greece, Cyprus and Egypt over oil-and-gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

Source: Libya Today December 05, 2019 17:37 UTC