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BEIRUT – The delegation formed by Lebanon to negotiate with Israel on the demarcation of the maritime borders met with the Commander of the Armed Forces, General Joseph Aoun, in the framework of preparatory meetings prior to the start of the talks between the two parties under the auspices of the United Nations in the middle of next week in southern Lebanon.
About ten days ago, Lebanon and Israel announced that they had reached an understanding to begin negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations at its headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, in a step that Washington, which will play the role of mediator and facilitator, called it “historic”. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday.
The Lebanese delegation met with the Commander of the Armed Forces in their first official meeting after naming its four members.
On Saturday, the Lebanese Army announced that General Joseph Aoun had met with the delegation in charge of the negotiation file to demarcate the borders, and gave “basic guidelines to begin the negotiation process with the aim of delineating the maritime borders from of the line that starts from Ras Naqoura by land and extends by sea according to the technique of the middle line, based on a study prepared by Lead the army in accordance with international laws. “
The Lebanese delegation includes four military and civilian members: Brigadier General Bassam Yassin, Colonel Mazen Basbous, technical expert Naguib Masih and the head of the Petroleum Sector Authority, Wissam Shabat.
According to a source in the Lebanese presidency, the delegation began its preparatory meetings, and that it will meet early next week with the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, and then with the representative of the United Nations Secretary General, Jan Kubis.
On the other hand, two days ago, Israel announced its delegation, which includes high-ranking officials, including the Director General of the Ministry of Energy, Udi Adiri, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic adviser, Reuven Azar, and the head of the Department of Strategic Affairs of the Army.
According to Lebanese officials, direct negotiations will not take place between the two delegations but will take place through the United Nations representative, even if all parties will sit in one room. However, Israel said, according to Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, that the talks would be “direct.”
Over the years, Washington led the mediation between the two parties, and this coincided with the signing of Lebanon in 2018 of the first contract to explore for gas and oil in its territorial waters, with a consortium of companies that includes “Total” , “Eni” and “Novatek”. One of the specified plots includes a part in dispute with Israel.
The announcement by the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, of the framework agreement on the negotiations provoked criticism in Lebanon, especially from opponents of Hezbollah, who saw in it the tacit approval of the party, which is Israel’s arch enemy, and had previously announced his opposition to any American role in the negotiations due to his close association with Tel Aviv.
In turn, Hezbollah stressed that the negotiations have nothing to do with “reconciliation” or “normalization” with Tel Aviv.
Lebanon and Israel are officially at war. In 2006, Lebanon witnessed a bloody war between Israel and Hezbollah that lasted 33 days, during which 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers, were killed.
