Lebanon Hopes for Border Deal with Israel in 'Reasonable Time'
Lebanon hopes to resolve a maritime border dispute with Israel within a "reasonable time," its delegation head said at a first round of talks on Wednesday.
The unprecedented talks, which were held at a U.N. peacekeeping base in the Lebanese border town of Naqoura, mark a "first step in the thousand-mile march towards the demarcation" of the maritime frontier, Brigadier General Bassam Yassin was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the army after the session.
"Based on the higher interests of our country, we are looking to achieve a pace of negotiations that would allow us to conclude this dossier within reasonable time," he said.
He added that the negotiations will be based on international law, the 1949 Lebanon Israel Armistice Agreement, and the 1923 Paulet-Newcombe Agreement between France and Britain that drew the boundaries between the British mandate of Palestine and the French mandate of Lebanon.
The session was held under the auspices of the United Nations and the United States.
Yassin praised U.S. efforts to "help establish a positive and constructive atmosphere" during the talks.
He also lauded the United Nations, saying he hopes it will exert "a fundamental and effective effort to organize the mechanism of talks and (secure) a smooth negotiation process."
Following years of U.S. shuttle diplomacy, Lebanon and Israel this month said they had agreed to begin U.N.-brokered negotiations, in what Washington hailed a "historic" agreement.
The talks lasted for around one hour and came weeks after Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first Arab states to establish relations with Israel since Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.
This has prompted suspicions that the flurry of U.S.-sponsored diplomacy relating to Israel is linked to President Donald Trump's re-election campaign.
A second round of negotiations will be held on October 28, a Lebanese military source and the official National News Agency (NNA) said.
The Naqoura talks, which focused exclusively on the disputed sea frontier, came at a sensitive time as Lebanon, battered by multiple crises, hopes to continue exploring for oil and gas in a part of the Mediterranean also claimed by Israel.
Security was tight, with roads in the area blocked by U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese troops, and helicopters flying overhead.
U.S. envoy David Schenker facilitated the opening session along with U.S. ambassador to Algeria John Desrocher, who was the mediator in the talks.
Israel said there would be "direct negotiations," something Lebanese officials have denied.
Israel sent a six-member team, including the director general of its energy ministry, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's foreign policy adviser and the head of the army's strategic division.
A statement by the Israeli delegation said the sides discussed Wednesday the "processes for continuing the discussions and set the agenda for future talks." The team members reported back to Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who approved they continue with the talks in the coming weeks.
Lebanon's four-member delegation comprised two army officers, an energy official and a maritime border law expert.
Lebanon, mired in its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, is looking to settle the maritime border dispute so it can press its offshore quest for oil and gas.
In February 2018, Lebanon signed its first contract for drilling in two blocks in the Mediterranean with a consortium comprising energy giants Total, ENI and Novatek.
Exploration of one of the blocks is more controversial as part of it is located in an 860-square-kilometer area claimed by both Israel and Lebanon.
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/275771 |