Head of Libya parliament says Turkey-Libyan deal invalid

Reuters
Libya's parliament speaker Aguila Saleh, looks on during a joint statement with Greek parliament speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas and Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias (not pictured) following their meeting, at the parliament in Athens

ATHENS (Reuters) - The head of Libya's eastern-based parliament on Thursday said he disagreed with an accord between Libya and Turkey establishing maritime boundaries which has infuriated Athens.

Greece expelled the Libyan ambassador last week over the Nov. 27 accord establishing a sea corridor between Libya and Turkey and in areas where Greece considers it has maritime rights.

"We are here to stress that this specific agreement is rejected, it is invalid," said Aguila Saleh Issa, speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives.

"Those that signed it do not have any legal authority to do so, since the government itself was rejected. It did failed a confidence vote twice and has not been legally sworn in at the House of Representatives," Issa told reporters in Athens through an interpreter.

Issa is aligned to General Khalifa Haftar who controls the east of the country which opposes the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

Turkey says the accord aims to protect its rights and is in line with international law. President Tayyip Erdogan said that the accord will allow Turkey and Libya to hold joint exploration operations in the region.

On Tuesday Athens said it had lodged objections with the United Nations, saying the accord violated international law.

Since 2014 Libya has had competing governments based in Tripoli and the east. Saleh's House of Representatives was Libya’s internationally recognized chamber at the time of a UN-backed deal in 2015 that led to the formation of the GNA, but the chamber has since fragmented.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas, writing by Michele Kambas, Editing by Angus MacSwan)