Greece vows to safeguard its sovereign rights after Libya's eastern parliament approved a contested maritime deal with Turkey

Athens says the 2019 pact is 'illegal, invalid and groundless' because it ignores Greek islands lying between the Turkish and Libyan coasts. Cyprus called the memorandum 'illegal, null, and void'. The unanimous vote by the House of Representatives, aligned with commander Khalifa Haftar, reverses years of opposition. Lawmakers also scrapped two 2020 resolutions that rejected Turkish deals and cut ties with Ankara.

The deal was first signed by Turkey and the Tripoli government in 2019.

Major gas discoveries have fuelled competing claims to the eastern Mediterranean's offshore waters.

Greece: 'Geography and the international Law of the Sea cannot be changed.'