Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said following his meeting with Libyan interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh that Turkey and Libya remain committed to the maritime delimitation pact in the eastern Mediterranean that they signed in 2019.
This is the Dbeibeh's second visit to Ankara since becoming interim prime minister in anticipation of December's elections.
The Libyan prime minister is pro-Turkey and known to be a personal friend Erdoğan.
During the Greek Prime Minister's recent visit to Libya, Dbeibeh stated that he was ready to discuss the demilitations of their maritime zones.
This is a development that Erdoğan wants to prevent.
In a press conference, Erdoğan also said Ankara would send 150,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Libya.
At the same time, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, who is currently in Benghazi ahead of the opening of the Greek Consulate General in the city, met with Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Atiya Abdul Hafeez Al-Qatrani.
The meeting focused on strengthening long-term bilateral relations and Greece's readiness to support reconstruction efforts, as well as regional developments, as previously reported by Greek City Times.
Although the Prime Minister is pro-Turkish, the Libyan Parliament is friendly with Greece.
The Tobruk-based Libyan Parliament, as the only elected body in the country, has refused to ratify the illegal Turkish-Tripoli memorandum to steal Greek maritime space.
With elections coming up in December, two prominent factions are emerging: a pro-Turkish/Muslim Brotherhood faction, and an anti-Turkish/Muslim Brotherhood bloc that has the support of France, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Dendias said during his Monday visit to Benghazi that he "thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for his direct stance on the illegal ‘memorandum’ signed by the GNA [Muslim Brotherhood Government of National Accords] Administration and Turkey."
“As well as for his reminder of the decision of the House of Representatives not to ratify this illegal ‘memorandum’,” he added.