Rising Competition in Eastern Mediterranean, Türkiye-Libya Maritime Jurisdiction Agreement and Legal Status

Öz

The importance of the Eastern Mediterranean entered a new era in the early 2000s with the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves of considerable economic value. These discoveries brought to the forefront previously unaddressed issues such as Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and maritime jurisdiction areas. Instead of coastal states coming together to discuss these issues, narrow-minded initiatives, as seen in the examples of Israel-Southern Cyprus-Israel and Greece-Egypt, have contributed to the crisis. According to the Turkish side, the root of this crisis lies in the lack of equitable sharing of maritime jurisdiction areas in accordance with international maritime law. Turkey, familiar with these developments from the crises in the Aegean Sea, and seeking to avoid a similar situation in the Mediterranean and to demonstrate its discomfort with initiatives undertaken from its side, signed a memorandum of understanding on November 27, 2019, with Libya and the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), recognized by the international community as Libya's legitimate representative, regarding economic and administrative arrangements and legal sharing in the Eastern Mediterranean region, due to Libya's civil war. In response to this, Greece, the Republic of Cyprus, and a group supporting them, including Israel and Egypt, claimed that the Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding was invalid. This study will attempt to answer the questions of the legal validity of this claim and the reasons that prompted Turkey to take this step.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Turkiye
• Libya
• Greece
• Eastern Mediterrranean
• Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding.

Doğu Akdeniz’de Artan Rekabet, Türkiye-Libya Deniz Yetki Alanları Antlaşması ve Hukuki Durumu

Öz

Doğu Akdeniz’in önemi 2000’li yılların başlarında ekonomik değeri oldukça yüksek olan hidrokarbon rezervlerinin bulunması ile ekonomik ve siyasi açıdan yeni bir döneme girmiştir. Bu keşifler daha önce gündeme gelmeyen Münhasır Ekonomik Bölge (MEB) ve deniz yetki alanları gibi konuların gündeme gelmesine yol açmıştır. Bu kapsamda kıyıdaş devletlerin bahsi geçen konuyu bir araya gelerek tartışmalarının yerine İsrail-Güney Kıbrıs Rum Kesimi-İsrail ve Yunanistan-Mısır örneklerinde olduğu üzere gerçekleştirdikleri dar kapsamlı girişimler bu konunun bir krize dönüşmesine katkıda bulunmuştur. Türk tarafının iddialarına göre bu krizin temelinde, uluslararası deniz hukukuna göre deniz yetki alanlarının hakça paylaşımında yaşanan eksiklik vardır. Bu gelişmelere Ege Denizi’ndeki krizlerden aşina olan Türkiye, benzer bir durumla Akdeniz’de de karşılaşmamak ve kendisi hariç tutularak yapılan girişimlerden duyduğu rahatsızlığı göstermek için 27 Kasım 2019 tarihinde, kendisi gibi Doğu Akdeniz bölgesinde ekonomik ve idari düzenleme ve hukuki paylaşım konularında, iç savaşta olması sebebiyle dışlanan Libya ve onun uluslararası toplum tarafından meşru temsilcisi olarak kabul edilen Libya Ulusal Mutabakat Hükümeti (GNA) ile deniz yetki alanlarını belirleyen bir mutabakat zaptına imza atmıştır. Bu duruma tepki olarak Yunanistan, GKRY ve onlara destek veren İsrail ve Mısır’ın bulunduğu grup, Türkiye-Libya Mutabakatının geçersiz olduğu iddiasını ortaya atmıştır. İşte bu çalışmada bu iddianın hukuken geçerliliği ve Türkiye’yi bu adımı atmaya iten sebepler nelerdir, soruları cevaplandırılmaya çalışılacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Türkiye
• Libya
• Yunanistan
• Doğu Akdeniz
• Türkiye-Libya Mutabakat Zaptı.

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