Egypt, Bahrain, UAE back Greece against Turkey-Libya maritime deal at UN

Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have backed Greece against the 2019 maritime boundaries accord between Turkey and Libya. Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis read a joint statement at the United Nations in New York on Monday, October 26, 2026, saying the accord raised "serious concerns for regional security and stability". The statement came six days after Libya's eastern parliament, which had refused to approve the deal for years, voted for it on Tuesday, October 20.

The dispute is about who controls the seabed and waters of the eastern Mediterranean, an area with known and suspected natural gas reserves and busy shipping lanes. Under the law of the sea, coastal states can claim an exclusive economic zone, a belt of sea where they alone have rights to fish and to drill for oil and gas. Where the zones of two countries overlap, they draw a boundary between them. Greece argues that Turkey and Libya cannot draw such a line at all, because their coastlines do not face each other or meet, and that the deal cuts into sea areas Greece claims. Since the deal was first signed, Greece has given a consortium led by the US company Chevron a licence to look for gas off Crete, which raises the stakes.

The October 20 vote changed the politics inside Libya. The country has had rival administrations since its civil war: the government in Tripoli in the west, which signed the deal with Turkey, and an eastern camp around military commander Khalifa Haftar, whose parliament had blocked it. By approving it now, the eastern side has moved closer to Ankara, which has long backed Tripoli. That weakens one of Greece's main arguments, that the deal never had the support of all of Libya, although Libya remains divided and the legal effect of the vote is disputed.

The joint statement from Cairo, Manama and Abu Dhabi turns a dispute between neighbours into a wider regional line-up. The three Arab states and Greece framed their concern around regional stability and the precedent of bilateral deals that, in their view, bypass established international law. Turkey, in turn, rejects the criticism and defends the deal as lawful.

For India, the eastern Mediterranean lies on the sea route between the Suez Canal and European ports, and Greece, Egypt and the UAE are all countries India has close ties with. Any rise in tension over sea zones there is worth watching for shipping, insurance and energy prices, even though no direct effect on India has been reported.

Short-term: Expect diplomatic exchanges at the UN and within the EU, and statements from Ankara rejecting the Arab position. Greece has said it informed its partners and allies and will take all appropriate measures to protect its sovereign rights.

Long-term: The accord could complicate gas exploration and future maritime deals in the eastern Mediterranean, including Greece's own efforts to agree a boundary with Libya. A wider regional bloc against the deal may push the dispute toward negotiation or international legal forums, but neither side has signalled a change of position.

Who is affected: Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and Libya's rival authorities; Egypt and Gulf states with interests in eastern Mediterranean energy; energy companies exploring off Crete; and shipping and trade that crosses the region, including India's trade with Europe.

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