Report: Schenker Soon in Beirut to Partake in Sea BorderTalks

W460

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker and a US delegation are set to arrive in Lebanon in the “coming hours” before a historic U.S.-mediated sea border talks between Lebanon and Israel, al-Joumhouria daily reported Monday.

The talks will be held at the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force in the southern Lebanese border town of Naqoura under the banner of the United Nations.

The daily said that “well-informed” sources did not disclose whether the US diplomat plans to meet any of Lebanon’s officials before the maritime talks launch.

“The US embassy in Beirut had not yet requested, until late last night, any appointment for Schenker with any official and at any level,” they told the daily.

The talks are expected to begin on October 14.

Lebanon and Israel have reached an agreement on a framework of indirect, U.S.-mediated talks over a longstanding disputed maritime border between the two countries, the parties announced.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said that the agreement is the result of nearly three years of intense diplomatic engagement by U.S. officials.

Israel and Lebanon have no diplomatic relations and are technically in a state of war. They each claim about 860 square kilometres (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea as within their own exclusive economic zones.

Indirect talks mean that Lebanese army negotiators will not be speaking directly to members of the Israeli delegation but through U.N. and U.S. officials.

Schenker said he will lead the U.S. mediation team for at least the first round. He would not specify exactly who would be representing the Israelis or the Lebanese adding that the talks are strictly about maritime issues and delineating a border.

Comments 1
Default-user-icon cocoman (Guest) 13 October 2020, 07:09

We want sanctions for our corrupted POS politicians, not border talks...