While official Western bodies, primarily the European Union and the United Nations, have declared the Turkey-Libya memorandum “null and void,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the Libyan parliament, defending the agreement as a legitimate form of cooperation. He went further, stating that “there is no valid justification for the reactions, especially from the European Union.” Speaking directly at a cabinet session, Erdoğan emphasized that the memorandum represents a crucial first step toward the goal of “One Libya.” Nevertheless, he struck a conciliatory tone, stressing that Turkey holds “peaceful intentions” in the Eastern Mediterranean, while also declaring that his country “defends its rights, even at a cost,” against “those who wanted us excluded from the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Read: Guterres’ message on the Turkey-Libya memorandum: “Violations of international law are unacceptable”
Erdoğan: “Within our maritime jurisdiction zones”
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once again fell back on Turkey’s long-standing position in his follow-up remarks. While he maintained that Turkey harbors no aggressive intent, he nonetheless unilaterally defined maritime boundaries by referring to “our maritime jurisdiction zones.” Specifically, he stated: “We are not trying to score against anyone in the Eastern Mediterranean. We are simply seeking to protect our rights and interests within our maritime jurisdiction zones. We support resolving disputes through peaceful means and settling them through dialogue with all coastal states.”
