Libyan authorities asked the UN not to recognize the agreement between GNU and Turkey

CAIRO, Oct 5 – PRIME. The head of the House of Representatives (parliament) of Libya, Akila Saleh, appealed to the UN Secretary General with a request not to recognize the agreements on cooperation in the oil and gas sector signed between the Government of National Unity (GNU) of Libya and Turkey.

On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who was on a visit to Tripoli, and PNU Foreign Minister Najla Mankoush signed memorandums on cooperation between the two countries in the oil and gas sector, including joint geological exploration.

Following the signing of the agreement, the text of a statement by the chairman of the House of Representatives based in the east of Libya, Akila Saleh, appeared, in which he called “illegal any agreement signed by Dbeiba’s cabinet in connection with the expiration of his term on December 24” last year.

“Speaker of the House of Representatives Akila Saleh has appealed to the UN Secretary General regarding the invalidity of any memoranda of understanding entered into by the government of Abdelhamid Dbeiba, whose mandate has expired,” Saleh’s spokesman said in a statement.

Earlier, Saleh noted that the signing of international agreements is the exclusive prerogative of Fathi Bashagi’s government elected by parliament.

In February, the parliament sitting in the east of Libya voted for the candidacy of former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagi for the post of prime minister. In March, ministers from the government formed by Bashaga were sworn in before parliament in the city of Tobruk. However, the current head of the government of national unity, Abdelhamid Dbeiba, had previously stated that he would not transfer power until the presidential elections, which turned into a dual power in the country. In May, Bashaga, after an unsuccessful attempt to locate the cabinet in Tripoli, announced that the government would start working in the city of Sirte.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and the former head of the Government of National Accord of Libya, Fayez Sarraj, who controlled only part of the territory of Libya, signed a memorandum on maritime zones and a memorandum on military cooperation at the end of November 2019.