Devlet Bahçeli stated that the Blue Homeland is a manifestation of Turkey’s legitimate rights arising from international law. MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli made a statement. Noting that the Memorandum of Understanding on Maritime Jurisdiction Areas, which was signed and entered into force in 2019, was ratified by the Libyan House of Representatives on October 20, 2026, Bahçeli said that this development reinforced the legal and political ground of the memorandum and strengthened the basis of Turkey’s rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Bahçeli stated that this development could make a significant contribution to the peace and stability of the Mediterranean and to the security of Europe’s energy supply routes. He underscored this transformation. He emphasized that from a Turkey that had to wage an overseas struggle in Tripolitania in 1911, a Turkey has emerged today that maintains a presence in the Mediterranean with its warships and protects its rights both in the field and at the table.
“History has changed, conditions have changed, Turkey has grown stronger,” Bahçeli said, noting that the Blue Homeland is a manifestation of the historical heritage and the legitimate rights arising from international law. Bahçeli stressed the following. Stating that Turkey’s presence in the Mediterranean should be a guarantee of peace and stability, Bahçeli thanked those who contributed to the doctrine and the Libyan officials who signed the memorandum.
Why it matters
The approval moves the memorandum, which was signed and entered into force in 2019, beyond being a text between two parties and places it on a footing backed by the will of Libya’s legislative body; Bahçeli’s emphasis that the ground has been solidified can also be read as an implicit acknowledgment that the arrangement had until now needed to be strengthened legally and politically. This step, which strengthens Turkey’s leverage at the table in the disputes over jurisdiction areas in the Eastern Mediterranean, carries a dimension that also concerns Europe through energy routes—not merely a bilateral delimitation—when considered together with the emphasis on energy supply security in the statement. Bahçeli’s framing of the issue with the Blue Homeland doctrine and historical references extending to Tripoli shows that the development is also being presented as a message of ownership in domestic politics. The question that remains open is this: to what extent will the parliamentary approval be reflected on the ground and in the attitudes of other actors in the region.
Background
Turkey is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 115 news stories featuring this name over the last 90 days; the most recent is dated October 22, 2026.