Turkey defended on Monday the signing of security deals with Libya’s Government of National Accord, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy saying they “will not allowing the status quo policy.”
Ankara and the GNA signed last week a memorandum of understanding on military and security cooperation and another on the restriction of maritime jurisdiction, drawing criticism from the Libyan National Army, Cyprus, Greece, Egypt and Europe.
The memorandum between Turkey and Libya on maritime jurisdiction complies with international law, Aksoy said, adding that part of the western border of the Turkish maritime sovereignty in the eastern Mediterranean was determined in the agreement.
Everyone knows that Turkey has the longest shore in the eastern Mediterranean and that the islands facing the line separating the two lands are maritime sovereignty outside its regional waters, Aksoy continued. When calculating the maritime sovereignty border, the length and direction of shores are taken into consideration.
In Brussels Monday, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said: "The EU has repeatedly stressed to Turkey that it has to respect international law and also good neighborly relations with all countries around it.”
It has to avoid any kind of threats or actions that would damage good neighborly relations and the peaceful settlement of disputes, he added.
He added that the EU had voiced its reservations over Ankara’s actions by imposing sanctions on July 15.
