US State Department calls Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum ratification provocative

From encouragement to rejection

On Wednesday, 21 October 2026, the department had encouraged talks on maritime delimitation and pointed to the economic gains a settlement could bring. Its new statement, given to Kathimerini on Sunday, 25 October 2026, goes further by explicitly disapproving of the ratification announced by the House of Representatives of eastern Libya. The department says the announcement has increased tensions in the region, that its position on the issue has not changed, and that the move is not constructive. The wording of the second response is therefore sharper than the first, which had focused on the benefits of negotiation.

“The announcement of the ratification of the Turkey-Libya memorandum of understanding on maritime delimitation has increased tensions in the region, is not constructive and is provocative.”

What Washington wants from the parties

The department encourages all countries, including partners in the Eastern Mediterranean, to settle maritime disputes through good-faith negotiations and to avoid any provocative conduct. It describes Greece and Turkey as both NATO allies and urges them to hold bilateral dialogue on any points of disagreement between them. According to the statement, a peaceful resolution of such disputes would open the way for commercial investment and exploration that benefits the whole region. The call for dialogue also appeared in the 21 October reply to Kathimerini, but the new text adds the explicit rejection of the ratification and the phrase about avoiding provocative conduct.

“Greece and Turkey are both NATO allies. We encourage them to pursue bilateral dialogue to address any points of disagreement.”

Lobbying before the second statement

Between the two department statements, the Greek-American Leadership Council (HALC) sent a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In that letter, HALC asked the State Department to take a clear and public position against the Turkey-Libya memorandum. The second statement was issued after that request, although the sources do not say whether it was a direct response to the letter. The department's new text therefore arrives with the council's demand already on record.

What the dispute is about

The memorandum is a Turkey-Libya agreement on maritime delimitation, and the sources describe its ratification by the eastern Libyan House of Representatives as the trigger for the new wording. The department links a settlement of the dispute to commercial investment and exploration that would benefit the wider region. Its earlier reply, sent to Kathimerini on 21 October, had already urged good-faith negotiations on the same issue. The sources do not describe further steps by Greece, Turkey or Libya after the statement.