Lebanon, Israel begin border talks
Lebanon hopes to resolve a maritime border dispute with Israel within a “reasonable time”, its delegation head said at the first round of talks on Wednesday.
The unprecedented talks, which were held at a UN 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 said during the inaugural session, according to an army statement.
“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.”
Yesterday’s talks, which lasted for around one hour, 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.
The session was held under the auspices of the United Nations and the United States.
Brig Gen Yassin praised US 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 organise the mechanism of talks and [secure] a smooth negotiation process”.
A second round of talks is set for Oct 28.
The talks, held at a base of UN peacekeeping force Unifil in the Lebanese border town, 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 US-sponsored diplomacy relating to Israel is linked to President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.
The Naqoura talks, which focused exclusively on the disputed sea frontier, started mid-morning, with roads in the area blocked by Unifil and the Lebanese army and helicopters flying overhead. US envoy David Schenker facilitated the opening session along with US ambassador to Algeria John Desrocher.
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.
Lebanon’s four-member delegation comprised of two army officers, an official and a maritime border law expert.
Israel and Lebanon have no diplomatic relations and this week’s talks are a rare official interaction.
Lebanon’s main Shia parties, Hezbollah and Amal, issued a statement late on Tuesday bemoaning the presence of civilians in the Lebanese negotiating team.
“This harms Lebanon’s position and interests ... and amounts to giving in to the Israeli logic that seeks some form of normalisation,” they said in the statement.
In February 2018, Lebanon, which is currently mired in its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, signed its first contract for drilling in two blocks in the Mediterranean with a consortium comprising of energy giants Total, ENI and Novatek.