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On Saturday, the Commander of the Lebanese Army, General Joseph Aoun, led the launch of the negotiation process with the aim of demarcating the maritime borders with Israel in the south of the country.
According to a statement issued by the Lebanese Army Command, “In compliance with the directives of President General Michel Aoun, the Commander of the Armed Forces met in his office with the delegation in charge of the negotiation file to demarcate the borders.”
He added: “During the meeting, the Army Commander gave the basic guidelines to start the negotiation process with the aim of delimiting maritime borders from the line that starts from Ras Naqoura by land and extends by sea according to the technique of the middle line without taking into account any impact on the coastal islands of occupied Palestine, based on a study prepared by the army command in accordance with international law. ”
The statement did not mention the members of the negotiating delegation.
The Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, announced in early October a framework agreement to negotiate the demarcation of the borders in southern Lebanon under the auspices of the United Nations and under its flag, and with US mediation.
The Lebanese president welcomed the agreement and announced that he will undertake negotiations in accordance with the constitutional provisions, beginning with the formation of the Lebanese negotiating delegation and accompanying the negotiation stages.
In the same context, the Lebanese Army Command announced on Saturday the implementation of a combat exercise, in alliance with units of the United Nations Provisional Forces in Lebanon, in the Naqoura region, in the south of the country.
The Army Command said, in a statement reported by the “National News Agency,” that the exercise, known as a “steel storm,” continued for several days and was interrupted by heavy and medium machine gun fire.
He added that this exercise is part of the activation of cooperation on the ground between the two parties and raises the level of readiness of the military units deployed in the southern sector of Litani.
