A controversial memorandum of understanding between Turkey and the UN-recognized but shaky interim government (GNA) in Tripoli, Libya, aimed to demarcate exclusive economic maritime zones between the two state has reportedly been activated, according to Turkey's semi-official Anadolu news agency.
The weekend report claims that the Libyan justice ministry has asked relevant government services to implement two memoranda, signed on Nov. 27, with publication set for early 2020 in the Libyan government gazette.
The agreement was not ratified by Libya's house of representatives, which is dominated by the rival eastern Libya-based LNA, led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, but rather by members of a government council.
The GNA, albeit internationally recognized, controls only a portion of the country and is encircled around Tripoli.
A day earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the MoU was sent to the United Nations.
Turkey, which does not recognize the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), has unilaterally applied its own particular view of maritime law, with a "Turkographic" method "erasing" all islands in the eastern Mediterranean, including the island republic of Cyprus and large Crete, in order to sketch lines on sea maps with willing partners - which, so far, has only included the shaky administration in Tripoli.
