Report: Berri ‘Dismayed’ with Satterfield over Oil Position

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed “anger” with David Satterfield, acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, who met with several Lebanese officials in Lebanon last week without meeting the Speaker or President Michel Aoun, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

But Berri has assured that “he would have refused to see Satterfield even the latter asked to meet him,” added the daily.

Explaining Berri’s position, the newspaper said that Berri’s refusal to see Satterfield is due to a “stormy” meeting in February between the two over the Lebanese-Israeli oil and gas exploration dispute.

Satterfield reportedly did not play the role of mediator, but adopted the Israeli position in a sharp way pressuring Lebanon to accept an American solution to the maritime border crisis ultimately serving the interests of Israel, it said.

In this meeting, after the debate, Satterfield reportedly told Berri in a rhetoric “outside” the diplomatic framework "take it or leave it.”

According to information obtained by the daily, the above has prompted Berri to sharply snap at the U.S. envoy.

Berri told Satterfield: “I am Nabih Berri, you can't talk to me this way. The American proposal is unacceptable. Our position is firm and known to uphold our full right to the 860 square km area and its oil and gas reserves in the sea which Israel is trying to steal. This is not the only property within Lebanon’s territorial waters and sea borders, but add to it an area of more than 500 square km to the south that also belong to Lebanon.”

Berri emphasized that Lebanon will not allow Israel to seize control of parts of its offshore oil and gas fields.

In 2017, Lebanon invited companies to bid for exploratory offshore drilling along the countries'

for two of 10 blocks in the Mediterranean Sea, including one that is disputed in part with Israel.

Israel claims Lebanon will be drilling partly in areas owned by Israel.