Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri Wednesday announced that a framework has been agreed upon to begin indirect talks with Israel on land and maritime border demarcation, which will be led by the Lebanese Army.
“The United States has been asked by Lebanon and Israel to act as an intermediary and facilitator to demarcate borders with Israel,” Berri told a news conference.
Meetings will be held at the UNIFIL base in Naqoura, near the border in the south under the auspices of the United Nations and the United States would push for a deal as fast as possible.
Berri announced the border talks initiative after US sanctions were imposed on his right-hand man for corruption and financially enabling Hezbollah, the heavily armed group that Washington deems a terrorist organisation.
He also said that he had asked French President Emmanuel Macron to press energy firm Total not to delay exploration for gas in the offshore area that runs along the disputed maritime border region.
Berri’s announcement comes two weeks before US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Schenker is expected to arrive in Beirut.
The United States has been leading the efforts to mediate the border talks between Lebanon and Israel as the two countries have been in a state of war since 1948.
Lebanon has been trying to find a solution to the border dispute with Israel, as it prepares to begin oil and gas exploration later this year for potential natural gas deposits in parts of the Mediterranean Sea that it controls.
About 856 square kilometers of waters are disputed between the countries. Lebanon's exploration is set to begin in December, in Block 4, and will continue in Block 9 a year later. Israel claims ownership of 8 percent of Block 9, though the part Lebanon plans to dig in lies outside the disputed area.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
