Turkey and Libya have signed a new agreement for hydrocarbon exploration in contested waters south of Crete, a direct response to Greece's own energy plans and a move that significantly escalates tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. The deal, unveiled this week by Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) and the state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), outlines plans for joint seismic surveys in four offshore zones. The pact is widely seen as a countermeasure to Greece's decision earlier this month to invite international bids for exploration rights in areas that Libya and Turkey claim under a controversial 2019 maritime border agreement. While the new pact is a clear political challenge to Athens, Greek diplomatic sources said their initial analysis of a map published by the NOC suggests the designated exploration areas currently lie south of the median line between Greece and Libya, which would keep them outside of Greece's...