Naturally, due to the earthquakes and the terrible loss of human life and material damage that Turkey has suffered, it has been 100% focused on dealing with these enormous problems that have arisen from one moment to the next.
This has resulted in the current phase of Turkish foreign policy having turned its attention to securing humanitarian aid for the earthquake-stricken country, from as many states as possible, and for the assistance of International Organizations to which Turkey belongs, such as UN-NATO- G-20-Organization of Turkish States and Islamic Conference Countries, or interconnected like the EU and other international Organizations.
Therefore, the Turkish reflexes and possibly interventions in Libya, in the current period of time, have been minimized.
The Italian invasion into Libya
At the same time, Italy, with its recently elected government, is attempting an unprecedented foray into Libya, with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stating "that his country is working with the Government of National Unity (GNU) to manage its affairs." Libya, for the stability of the region, taking into account the various influences from Turkey and Egypt in the country."
According to the Italian news agency Nova, Tajani said that "Turkey has more influence in the 'Tripoli area', while the Egyptians have influence in 'Cyrenaica,' saying that Libya is experiencing a different situation than six months ago."
From an article by a reputable Libyan media on the subject we highlight the following main points in our estimation:
"The Italian prime minister visited Tripoli in her bid to boost new trans-Mediterranean energy links, but critics say Libya is unable to be a stable energy partner for Europe.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni was in Libya to promote Rome as a gas hub linking North African producers to Europe and stem the flow of migrants to the Mediterranean.
During her trip, Italian oil company Eni and Libya's National Oil Company (NOC) signed an $8 billion gas production deal aimed at boosting gas supplies to Europe.
The deal is said to be the biggest investment in Libya's energy sector in a quarter of a century and a sign that Italy is taking the lead in gas extraction in North Africa as Europe tries to find alternatives to Russian energy after the invasion of Ukraine.
But with Libya still in chaos a decade after the Nato-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, analysts say the country is not a reliable energy partner, since before Meloni even left the troubled country, Libya's oil minister had denounced the landmark gas deal as "illegal".
Two offshore fields to be developed
If all goes well, Eni's deal will increase both gas production for the Libyan domestic market and exports to Europe, largely through the development of two offshore gas fields.
In a statement, the Italian company said production would begin in 2026 and reach a level of 750 m3 per day. "This agreement will enable significant investment in Libya's energy sector, contributing to local development and job creation, while strengthening Eni's role as a leading company in the country," said CEO Claudio Descalzi.
The Italy-Libya pact builds on a strong pre-existing oil and gas partnership between the two countries, underpinned by the GreenStream pipeline, which links gas fields in western Libya to the island of Sicily and can transport 11 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.
The pipeline opened in 2004, but supply has plummeted since Libya descended into chaos a decade ago. Since then, Algeria, which Meloni visited before Tripoli, has overtaken Libya as Italy's main North African energy partner and largest natural gas supplier. Italy is also committed to future gas imports from Egypt, Angola, the Republic of Congo and Mozambique.
On a more strategic level, Rome also sees a role for itself as a link between North African gas producers and northern Europe, building on strong relationships in the region and hoping to build an energy corridor to Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
In a statement of intent at a roundtable in Tripoli, Meloni said that while Italy wants to expand its profile in the region, it does not seek a "predatory" role but instead wants to help African nations "develop and become richer."
Libya is by no means a reliable partner
Libya, too, could benefit from this shift. But analysts were quick to throw cold water on the significance of the Eni deal, given Libya's chronic instability, underinvestment, high domestic demand and a lack of exports since civil war broke out in 2011.
For years Libya has been under the control of rival governments, one in Tripoli in the west, the Government of National Unity (GNU), which is supported by the United Nations, and the other, based in Benghazi in the east of the country, which is under the control of of Khalifa Haftar, who has won the support of the Gulf states.
The Eni deal is likely to deepen the rift between rival administrations, as happened with oil and military deals between Libya and Turkey, and has already exposed infighting in the government of GNU Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.
Mohamed Oun, Dbeibeh's oil and gas minister, did not attend the signing of the Eni deal but criticized it on local television, saying such deals should be made by the ministry and not the NOC.
The eastern parliament has categorically rejected the appointment of Farhat Bengdara as chairman of the NOC and by extension any deals it or Tripoli might make with foreign companies and states.
Competition between rival administrations and periods of violent conflict have led to blockades and shutdowns of oil facilities in recent years, hampering the industry's growth."
The attitude of Greece
From the above it can be seen that Italy is moving quickly to maximize natural gas exports from Libya based on an agreement it signed with the illegal Dbeibeh government. However, this agreement will have multiple energy benefits for the EU, which in our estimation means that it will be very difficult to cancel it in the future.
Turkey, on the other hand, has made a similar agreement which, due to earthquakes and their terrible consequences, we do not expect to implement in the coming months.
Our question is why Greece does not move in cooperation with Egypt and Haftar to sign a similar agreement with the government of Benghazi, since in such a case and in conjunction with the partial demarcation of our EEZ west of the 28th meridian with Egypt, it will could our country conduct research and extraction of hydrocarbons in the marine area south of Crete within the Greek and also the Libyan EEZ, preventing negative developments later on from Turkey.
