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Reuters
On Friday, Israel accused Lebanon of changing its stance on demarcation of maritime borders between the two countries, warning that the talks could reach a “dead end” and obstructing offshore oil exploration projects.
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This came after Lebanon and Israel, while officially at war, concluded a third round of negotiations under the auspices of the United States and the United Nations last week and decided to hold a fourth round in early December.
“Lebanon has changed its position on its maritime borders with Israel seven times,” Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz wrote on Twitter.
He added: “His current position not only contradicts his previous positions, but also contradicts Lebanon’s position on the maritime borders with Syria, which takes into account the Lebanese islands close to the border.”
He continued: “Whoever wants to prosper in our region and seeks to safely develop natural resources, must adhere to the principle of stability and resolve the dispute on the basis of what Israel and Lebanon have deposited with the United Nations,” emphasizing that “Any deviation from that will lead to a dead end and betrayal of the aspirations of the peoples of the region.”
Lebanese President Michel Aoun had stated that “the demarcation of maritime borders is carried out on the basis of the line that starts by land from the Ras al-Naqoura point, based on the general principle known as the median line, without counting no impact on the occupied Palestinian coastal islands. “
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The negotiations mainly concern a marine area that extends over some 860 square kilometers, according to a map sent in 2011 to the United Nations, but Lebanon later considered it based on false estimates.
During the negotiation sessions, Lebanon demands an additional area of 1,430 square kilometers that includes part of the Karish field in which the Greek company Energian told AFP Laurie Haitian, director of the Institute for the Governance of Natural Resources in the Middle East and North from Africa. Today we have entered the map war phase. “
Source: AFP
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