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A spokesman for the US State Department confirmed to Al-Hurra TV on Monday that it is solely up to Lebanon and Israel to decide the framework and timing they believe is appropriate for the ongoing negotiations on the demarcation of the borders. maritime.
The spokesman said: “The border issue is a decision for Israel and Lebanon to make, while the United States remains committed to mediation and facilitation at the request of both parties.”
Military sources confirmed to the organizations that the Lebanese side had officially informed the postponement of the negotiation session on the demarcation of the maritime borders, which was scheduled for December 2.
Lebanon and Israel, officially at war, have held three rounds of indirect negotiations since last month, under the auspices of the United States and the United Nations.
Sources told the France-Presse agency that the US diplomat, John DeRoucher, who plays the role of facilitator in the sessions, will come to Beirut at the time of the session, which was scheduled for Wednesday at a Provisional Forces base. of the United Nations in southern Lebanon in the Naqoura border region.
“During which discussions can be completed or common ground can be attempted,” he added.
The Lebanese announcement came after Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz accused Lebanon of “changing its position on its maritime borders with Israel seven times,” warning that the talks would reach a “dead end. departure”.
He said in a tweet: “Whoever wants prosperity 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.”
The Lebanese presidency denied the Israeli accusation, stating that Beirut’s position is “firm” on the issue of demarcation.
The negotiations mainly concern a marine area that extends over some 860 square kilometers, according to a map sent to the United Nations in 2011, but Lebanon was later found to be based on false estimates.
During the negotiation sessions, Lebanon demanded an additional area of 1,430 square kilometers that includes part of the “Karish” field in which the Greek energy company operates, the director of the Institute for the Governance of Natural Resources in the East told AFP. Middle and North Africa, Laurie Haitian, considering that the two countries have entered the “map war stage”.
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 in dispute with Israel.
Lebanon and Israel have agreed to start negotiations after years of Washington-led diplomatic efforts. The first round of talks, which Lebanon insists on being technical and indirect, was held in October.
