Turkey vows to continue to protect its rights after maritime deal registered by UN

ANKARA

Senior Turkish officials have vowed that Turkey will continue to protect its rights and interests after a maritime delimitation deal it had signed with Libya’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) was registered by the U.N.

“Our maritime demarcation agreement with Libya is registered by the U.N. We will continue to protect our people’s rights with determination in the frame of international law,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu tweeted late Oct. 1.

Echoing Çavuşoğlu, Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez underscored that Turkey’s policy concerning the Mediterranean, which is based on rights and justice, was reinforced by the registration of the Turkey-Libya deal. “As we always say, as we will neither be unfair to anybody nor abandon our rights.”

The statements of Çavuşoğlu and Dönmez followed the news that U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres registered the Turkey-Libya deal on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean on Oct. 1.

The agreement “has been registered with the Secretariat in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations,” said the certificate of registration dated Wednesday.

“Every treaty and every international agreement entered into by any member of the United Nations after the present Charter comes into force shall as soon as possible be registered with the Secretariat and published by it,” reads Article 102.

The pact with Libya’s GNA was signed on Nov. 27, 2019, and passed by Turkey’s parliament on Dec. 5. It took effect on Dec. 8 after the two countries published it in their respective official gazettes. Ankara applied to the U.N. to register the pact on Dec. 12.

The memorandum setting marine jurisdictions rejects unilateral and illegal activities by other regional countries and international firms and aims to protect the rights of both countries.

Turkey’s support to Libya to continue

In the meantime, the Defense Ministry stressed that Turkey’s support to the GNA will continue.

“The agreement determining the maritime jurisdiction zones between Turkey and Libya is registered by U.N. Our versatile relations based on 500 years of common history with Libya and our training, support and consultancy support to the U.N.-recognized GNA will continue,” read a statement issued by the ministry.

Along with the maritime agreement, Turkey and Libya also signed a memorandum on cooperation in the field of defense and security. The GNA could defend Tripoli from General Khalifa Haftar’s attacks as a result of Turkey’s military support.

Turkey provides military consultancy and training to the GNA forces as well as some military equipment.