President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced that Turkey will exercise its rights under international law and international maritime law until the very end in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

“Turkey will exercise its rights under international law and international maritime law until the end when it comes to the Eastern Mediterranean,” Erdoğan emphasized in his speech.

According to the Libyan Justice Ministry, the internationally recognized government's Presidential Council requested relevant departments to bring the pacts into force following their ratification.  

The new maritime boundary transects are including an area which is close to Greece and Cyprus. It runs close to the Greek island of Crete and could jeopardise plans for a gas pipeline to deliver eastern Mediterranean gas to Europe. 

Seeing the deal as a "provocation," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that Ankara's move will not produce internationally legal results.

Greece later announced it would expel its Libyan envoy Mohamed Younis AB Menfi from the country in response. Shortly after that announcement, Erdoğan explained Greece’s decision to expel the Libyan envoy, calling it “a scandalous decision.”

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that Turkey does not want any escalation in the region but stands ready to respond to possible hostilities.

Maritime Business World