Impact of Turkey–Libya Maritime Jurisdiction Agreement on Turkey-Greece relations

The Eastern Mediterranean region has become a focal point due to its natural resource reserves. Through this study, referring to the issue of maritime jurisdiction dispute between countries that have or have not rights in the region, the before and after of the Turkey-Libya Agreement were explained and the extent to which the agreement changed the balances in the region was analyzed. Our objective is to analyze the extent to which the agreement has changed the dynamics in the region and its impact on Greece-Turkey relations. According to our research hypothesis, Greece has been attempting to disregard Turkey's rights in the region by trying to grant maritime jurisdiction rights to its islands. However, with the Libya Agreement, Greece's objective has been thwarted. In the hypothesis test of the study, the literature was reviewed, national and foreign sources, articles, published books, etc. were examined. Accordingly, international law texts, especially the memorandum of understanding, were also used in the hypothesis test.. Subsequently, the Eastern Mediterranean policies of coastal and non-coastal states in the region, particularly Greece, which claims rights despite not being a coastal state, were examined. Based on these examinations, the relations of coastal and non-coastal states with Turkey in the region were explained in terms of pre and post-agreement periods. The study concludes that the Libya Agreement is of significant importance as it disrupts all scenarios developed in the region and represents a major step for Turkey to protect its rights and showcase its strength.