Egypt categorically rejects the ratification of the Turkey-Libya memorandum by Libya’s House of Representatives.
In a lengthy statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the memorandum is described as absolutely null and void, without legal force and producing no legal effect for Egypt.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry says the “memorandum constitutes a clear infringement of Egypt’s sovereign rights in its Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf”.
It also sends a clear message: “insofar as this Memorandum runs counter to Egypt’s declared maritime boundaries, Egypt reserves the right to protect the rights guaranteed to it under international law and to address any attempt to violate them”.
The following is the English translation of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s statement:
The Arab Republic of Egypt expresses its categorical rejection of the ratification by Libya’s House of Representatives of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 between the “government of Fayez al-Sarraj” and the Republic of Turkey concerning the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean Sea. It reaffirms that the Memorandum is absolutely null and void, has no legal force and produces no legal effect for Egypt, and that its ratification by Libya’s House of Representatives creates no legal consequences for Egypt.
The Arab Republic of Egypt also notes that the Memorandum of Understanding violates the principles of international law of the sea and the provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea concerning the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf, which are based on the principles of justice and equity. The Memorandum constitutes a clear infringement of Egypt’s sovereign rights in its Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf.
The Arab Republic of Egypt recalls that it had already categorically opposed the Memorandum of Understanding and reiterates its rejection of it, as well as of any action or act by any party based on it. Insofar as this Memorandum runs counter to Egypt’s declared maritime boundaries, Egypt reserves the right to protect the rights guaranteed to it under international law and to address any attempt to violate them.”