Lebanon’s sovereignty is the secret to delineating the maritime borders with Israel



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Politics

Al Ain News Agencies

Tuesday 10/13/2020 7:57 PM Abu Dhabi time

Lebanon announced on Tuesday that its government is negotiating with Israel to demarcate its maritime borders to preserve its sovereignty.

The Lebanese presidency said that negotiations will be held tomorrow Wednesday with Israel to demarcate the maritime borders, in order to preserve Lebanon’s sovereignty and wealth.

Israeli-Lebanese negotiations will begin on Wednesday on the demarcation of the maritime borders between the two countries, after years of US mediation.

In a tent at the United Nations headquarters in the Naqoura region, on the border between the two countries, the two parties will meet, in the presence of representatives from Washington and the United Nations.

According to Israeli officials, the United States Under Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker will attend the opening session with the participation of former Washington ambassador to Algeria, John Deruscher, who will participate in all negotiating sessions, while The Israeli delegation is headed by the Director General of the Ministry of Energy, Udi Adiri.

“We have a practical and realistic position, and our goal is clear and specific, which is to resolve the water dispute,” an Energy Ministry official said in statements to the Israel Public Broadcasting Authority.

He added: “We hope that the Lebanese side will also take a pragmatic approach and not present a position to achieve victory over the Zionist enemy.”

In the event that the Lebanese delegation arrived with a “pragmatic” position, the Israeli official said that the resolution of the differences would be carried out “in a few months.”

He expressed hope that Hezbollah will not try to abort the negotiations, highlighting the urgent need for natural gas from Lebanon and the enormous benefits inherent in the deal.

Regarding the nature of the next negotiations, he indicated that they will be “technical and not peace negotiations.”

Israel and Lebanon announced that a framework for negotiations would be reached through US mediation, and an agreement on the negotiation mechanism between the two parties is expected to be concluded tomorrow.

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.

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