Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday said that things related to maritime border demarcation with Israel are “on the right path."
Speaking at the opening of a forum on education in Lebanon, Mikati said Beirut has some comments on a US proposal for a maritime border deal with Israel and will send them to US mediator Amos Hochstein.
The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon on Saturday delivered a maritime border demarcation proposal to President Michel Aoun and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday, as negotiations with Israel progress. https://t.co/KJeIu3qmrN
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) October 2, 2022
The Lebanese premier stressed that ensuring Lebanon's rights is "fundamental" and not subject to ceding.
On Saturday, Lebanon said it had received a letter from Hochstein regarding a proposed solution to the maritime border dispute with Israel.
The US proposal was also handed to the Israeli side on Sunday, whereas Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said it would "strengthen Israel's security and Israel's economy."
Lebanon and Israel are locked in a dispute over a maritime area of 860 square kilometers (332 square miles), according to maps sent by both countries to the UN in 2011.
Meanwhile, Israel’s top negotiator for maritime border demarcation with Lebanon, Udi Adiri, has resigned from his post amid progress in US-mediated efforts to reach a possible deal with Beirut.
The resignation came as US mediator Amos Hochstein presented his final proposal to settle a maritime border dispute between Tel Aviv and Beirut.
According to The Jerusalem Post newspaper, Adiri opposed the agreement and "was frustrated by how National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata conducted the talks after the responsibility for them was moved to the Prime Minister’s Office."
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told his Cabinet that the deal would "strengthen Israel's security and Israel's economy," adding that Israel has been seeking to strike an agreement for more than 10 years.
But the Israeli prime minister is being clobbered by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu who is saying this is deal which is about sovereignty should be debated by the Knesset.
Lebanese PM-designate Najib Mikati: Progress has been made on Lebanon’s maritime border demarcation yet the final solution has not been reached; some details require clarifications pic.twitter.com/wU8CJjL8ry
— ahdonaeng (@ahdonaeng) September 24, 2022
The area is rich in natural gas and oil. Starting in 2020, five sessions of indirect negotiations have been held on the issue under UN sponsorship and US mediation, with the latest round held in May 2021.
Conflicting news is also coming from Lebanon. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said last Monday that there will be no partnership on the maritime border with Israel. Speaking during a meeting with French diplomat Anna Guegue in Beirut, Aoun said Beirut will decide its position regarding a US proposal for maritime border demarcation with Israel.
"Lebanon will indicate its position on (US mediator Amos) Hochstein's proposal in consultation with the heads of the legislature and the government," a presidential statement quoted Aoun as saying during his meeting with Gueguen, the director of North Africa and the Middle East at the French Foreign Ministry. “There will be no partnership with the Israeli side," he added.
