UN registers Turkey-Libya maritime deal: Turkish ministry

The maritime demarcation deal was signed between Turkey and Libya's UN-supported government in November last year. 

The move was met with an increase in regional tensions, with Egypt, Cyprus and Greece dismissed it as an infringement on their economic rights in the oil-rich sea.

But Turkey's Defence Ministry has said last year's agreement outlining a Turkish and Libyan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the eastern Mediterranean is registered with the UN, Reuters reported.

"The UN has registered the maritime jurisdiction deal as agreed between Turkey and Libya. Our deep ties with Libya based on over 500 years of history will continue to strengthen," Turkey's Defence Ministry said on Twitter.

"We will continue to provide training and advisory services to the UN recognized, legitimate government of Libya."

The latest announcement comes as Turkey squares off with Greece over Mediterranean drilling rights. 

Ankara has infuriated the EU by sending research ships with naval escorts to work in waters the bloc says belong to Greece and Cyprus, and Athens has responded with war games backed by France, raising fears of full-blown conflict.

But tensions between Turkey and Greece have eased in the last fortnight with the two sides agreeing to resume long-stalled political talks as well as setting up a military hotline at NATO to avoid any accidental clashes in the area.

Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over sea boundaries but recent discoveries of natural gas and drilling plans across the east Mediterranean have exacerbated the dispute.

In Libya, Turkish military assistance this year has seen the Tripoli government beat back rogue general Khalifa Haftar, whose forces had made a bid to capture the capital.

Egypt backs the rival administration based in eastern Libya and its military commander Khalifa Haftar. Cairo claims Turkey is backing extremists on behalf of the UN-supported government in Tripoli.

After Turkey helped turned the tide in the Libyan war, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi threatened a military incursion into Libya, leading to concerns of a direct Egyptian-Turkish confrontation.