Lebanon, Israel begin indirect talks over border

Discussions aimed at reaching consensus on maritime boundary

NAQOURA, LEBANON— Lebanon and Israel began indirect talks Wednesday over their disputed maritime border, with U.S. officials mediating the talks that both sides insist are purely technical and not a sign of any normalization of ties.

The U.S. has been mediating the issue for about a decade, but only this month was a breakthrough reached on an agreement for a framework for U.S.mediated talks.

The development comes against the backdrop of Lebanon’s spiralling economic crisis, the worst in its modern history, and following a wave of U.S. sanctions that recently included two influential former cabinet ministers allied with the militant Hezbollah group. Israel, Canada, the United States, as well as some other western and Arab countries consider the Iran-allied Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

Beirut hopes oil and gas discoveries in its territorial waters will help it overcome the crisis and pay back its massive debt that stands at170 per cent of the GDP, making it one of the highest in the world.

Israel already has developed a natural-gas industry elsewhere in its economic waters, producing enough gas for domestic consumption and to export to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan.

The U.S.-mediated talks began at a UN post along the border known as Ras Naqoura on the edge of the Lebanese border town of Naqoura. The Lebanese delegation will speak through UN and U.S. officials to the Israelis.

The meeting took place in an outdoor camp setting because of the coronavirus. Lebanon and Israel have been hit hard by the virus, and both have reported thousands of new cases in recent days.

Lebanon’s state news agency said the first session ended around noon and the next session will be held Oct. 28.

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

A joint statement released by the U.S. State Department and Jan Kubis, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, said Israel and Lebanon had started talks aimed at reaching consensus on a common maritime boundary.

“During this initial meeting, the representatives held productive talks and reaffirmed their commitment to continue negotiations later this month,” said the brief statement.

The head of the Lebanese delegation, Brig. Gen. Bassam Yassin, said Wednesday’s meeting

“is the first step of a thousandmile journey” in comments during the meeting, according to a text released the Lebanese army.

A senior official with Israel’s energy ministry said: “We have no illusions. Our aim is not to create here some kind of normalization or some kind of peace process.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

“Our aim is very strict and limited and therefore hopefully achievable,” they added.

Charbel Wehbi, Lebanon’s outgoing foreign minister, said Lebanese negotiators will be “more fierce than they expect because we have nothing to lose.”