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Speaker of Parliament confirms that it will not lead to normalization with Israel
Yesterday the second round of negotiations was held for the demarcation of the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel, which will resume at 10 in the morning this morning, while the President of Parliament Nabih Berri reiterated that it is not possible, neither soon nor far, accept that these negotiations lead to normalization with Israel.
These sessions are being held under the auspices of the United Nations and by a US agency, and the Lebanese delegation brought maps and documents showing points of disagreement, according to the National Information Agency.
Sources familiar with the negotiations told Asharq Al-Awsat that the second round was a good one, describing it as “the real start of the negotiations, as Lebanon presented the maps it had to negotiate an area of 2,290 square kilometers, after the maps presented to the United Nations in 2011 will only relate to With an area of 860 kilometers, which is what the Lebanese delegation is supposed to receive a response from Israel on ”.
As in the first session, the Lebanese negotiating delegation included Deputy Chief of Operations General Staff, Brigadier General Bassam Yassin as Chairman, Navy Colonel Mazen Basbous, border dispute expert Dr. Naguib Masih, and a member of the Petroleum Sector Administration Board, Wissam Shabat. One of the assistants to the UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Jan Kubi, leads the negotiations in the presence of the US mediator, Ambassador Jean Derucher.
In the vicinity of the city of Naqoura, a wide expansion of the Lebanese army was observed, carrying out joint patrols with the forces of “UNIFIL”, while the Lebanese delegation arrived aboard a helicopter that landed at the heliport of the headquarters of UNIFIL, which is 500 meters from the meeting place.
In this context, the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, reaffirmed that the negotiations that Lebanon is conducting in Naqoura are exclusively aimed at establishing Lebanon’s rights to fully invest its wealth without increasing or decreasing. Berri said: “It is not possible, neither soon nor far, to accept that the demarcation negotiations will lead to normalization with the Israeli enemy, which is being negotiated according to clear mechanisms that are the components of the April understanding and indirectly under the banner from the ONU”.
He stressed that Lebanon could not continue if politicians delved into their proposals for various titles through sectarian and confessional criteria, noting that “the time has come for the Lebanese to belong to his homeland before joining his sect. Yes, sects are a blessing, but sectarianism is a curse. President Berri expressed his fear of reaching a stage where there is mercy for Sykes-Picot, compared to the divisive scenarios envisioned for the region.
The director of the Institute for the Governance of Natural Resources in the Middle East and North Africa, Laurie Haitien, told «Agence France»: «Today’s session (yesterday) is the first technical meeting after the first knowledge session and during which the basic rules for negotiation were established. Accordingly, the delineation discussions are expected to begin in detail.
The Lebanese state embarks on negotiations, as Haitian explains: “From the beginning of demanding the maximum that can be obtained under the roof of international law and the law of the sea, that is, it wants to go beyond 860 square kilometers, which it is part of the Karish gas field of Lebanon’s share. ” . It is not known what the Israeli position will be in this regard, especially since Karish is an open field, and Israel was supposed to start production operations in it next year before there was a delay with the outbreak of the new Corona virus.
In 2018, Lebanon signed the first contract to explore gas and oil in two areas of its territorial waters, one of which, known as Block No. 9, is in the part disputed with Israel. Consequently, Lebanon has no option to operate in this territory except after the borders are demarcated.
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