ANKARA 

Turkey has applied to the UN to register the pact signed with Libya that sets out the countries’ maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Ankara applied to the body to register the memorandum on Wednesday, said diplomatic sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media

According to Article 102 of the UN Charter: “Every treaty and every international agreement entered into by any Member of the United Nations ... shall as soon as possible be registered with the Secretariat and published by it."

The pact with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) was signed on Nov. 27 and passed by Turkey's parliament on Dec. 5.

It went into effect as of Dec. 8 after the two countries published it in their respective official gazettes.

The memorandum setting both countries' marine jurisdictions rejects unilateral and illegal activities by other regional countries and international firms and aims to protect the rights of both countries.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Mediterranean region is estimated to hold millions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic meters of natural gas worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Turkey has urged regional countries to take an equality-based approach to these resources, but its calls have largely fallen on deaf ears.

Ankara continues its drilling and discovery operations in the region under the protection of the country's navy.

Since 2011, when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed, Libya has seen the emergence of two rival seats of power: one in eastern Libya to which military commander Khalifa Haftar is affiliated and the Government of National Accord, which enjoys UN recognition.