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In the contract signed between Syria and a Russian company for oil and gas exploration in the southern Syrian Sea (the area adjacent to the border with Lebanon), one of the paragraphs stipulated the requirement that “the contractor adhere to to all future treaties and agreements between the Syrian and Lebanese governments regarding the coordinates of the southern bloc borders. “This condition contained in the agreement clearly means that Syria has not closed the door to negotiations with Lebanon. Today, and for 10 years, Beirut was the one that refused to respond to Damascus, which had previously opposed the “unilateral demarcation” of the maritime borders between the two countries.
After the announcement of the Russian-Syrian agreement to explore for oil and gas at sea, and the publication of an attached map showing the overlapping maritime borders between the two countries with an area of approximately 750 square kilometers, the issue delimiting the border between the two neighbors became a fact in which the political and the technical overlap, so that the scene seems to distinguish itself par excellence. This was not evidenced by the group-led campaigns on social media, which placed Syria in the ranks of the Israeli enemy, considering that both are “trying to steal the oil wealth” from Lebanon. Those interested in the file joined these groups, promoting the idea that the Syrians had seized a maritime area of 750 square kilometers.
Manufacturing the problem comes at a time of internal conflict over the relationship with Damascus and international pressure on Lebanon to boycott Syria and participate in its siege. However, the “strong Lebanon” bloc quickly came on the line, which discussed the matter at its meeting the day before yesterday, noting in its statement that “the bloc’s head, Gebran Bassil, had previously directed the necessary books to the competent authorities.” . in Lebanon regarding the overlapping of maritime economic borders between the two countries, as he indicated. An objection was written to the Syrian side to ensure the preservation of Lebanon’s rights and borders. “Accordingly, he called on the” bloc “to” carry out the necessary negotiations between Lebanon and Syria in this regard on the basis of the respect for good neighborliness and international law. “
The Syrian contract with the Russian company speaks of oil and gas exploration within four years.
What the bloc observed at the time of the negotiations is perhaps the most important issue that should be highlighted, regardless of the use of the issue in the context of the attack on the Syrian state. The current government, as well as previous governments, insists on boycotting Syria, which sometimes leads to treating it as an enemy, bowing to the dictates of the United States.
Whatever the circumstance, there is no justification for Lebanon to accept negotiations with the Israeli enemy and reject them with a sister country, with the need to emphasize the absence of similarities between the two cases. Syria is not an enemy state or an occupying entity. Furthermore, negotiation is a political path that states follow each other, even if they are in harmony.
Old problem
The issue of demarcation of the border with Syria is not new. The file has been open since 2011, that is, after the issuance of Decree 6433, which demarcated the northern, southern and western maritime borders of Lebanon. At that time, Syrian state correspondence was carried out by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the request of the Ministry of Energy (Gebran Bassil was then Minister of Energy). The file continued to advance, especially with the launch of the licensing cycle for oil exploration. However, the file grew in drawers due to security, military and political developments in Syria, and Lebanon invoked the excuse of self-distancing to sever ties with it.
The archive was neglected, despite its importance. Nobody noticed, except when, in the first week of March 2021, the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic ratified the contract signed between the Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the Russian company “Capital” for oil exploration in Block. No. 1 (Syrian) along the border with Lebanon.
Consequently, the movement was started inside Lebanon, as “Al-Akhbar” learned, in order to collect all the prior documents necessary to speak with the Syrian government. More than one ministerial source confirmed that “all the previous correspondence and books will be recovered from the files of the pertinent ministries and sent to the government, which will have to decide the necessary measures.”
Although some parties accused Syria of “ratifying the contract to pressure Lebanon to negotiate with it in the same way as it does with the Israeli enemy, to break its isolation”, and that with the line it advanced, “it entered the Lebanon borders an area of 750 square kilometers, ”Lebanese army sources technically responded. And I know that the matter is denied, noting that “Syria, like all countries, raised the maximum line, like Lebanon, which did not negotiate with it when it demarcated its borders, and this is normal.”
The sources explained the course of the case, saying that “in 2011, Lebanon demarcated its northern maritime borders with Syria, the west with Cyprus and the south with Palestine unilaterally through Decree No. 6433 that was deposited with the United Nations, of in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Lebanon has adopted the pure median line technique (ie the isometric line) to demarcate its northern maritime border with Syria. In 2014, the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations sent a letter objecting to the Lebanese demarcation, which he addressed to the Secretary General of the International Organization. In the book, Ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari (Al-Akhbar obtained a copy) was content to oppose the Lebanese demarcation, without revealing Syria’s approach to demarcation of its borders with Lebanon, including the geographic coordinates of the Syrian line.
In 2007 and 2010, Syria launched oil and gas licensing rounds, according to which it divided Syrian maritime zones into 3 blocks. The southern boundary of Syrian Block No. 1, adjacent to Lebanese waters, was determined following the latitude technique “which contradicts the median line technique established by international law and jurisprudence and adopted by Lebanon,” according to the opinion of the sources.
Lebanon demarcated its borders with Syria unilaterally and notified the United Nations of this in 2011, so Damascus opposed the demarcation in 2014.
And here lies the dispute, which is technical. There is no robbery, robbery or assault on the Lebanese border. However, “as a result of the adoption by the two countries of different demarcation techniques, a disputed area of about 750 square kilometers has been created, extending over Lebanese and Syrian Block 1 and Block 1.” And because the Syrian authorities agreed to award Syria’s Block 1 to the Russian Capital Company, this contract is imperative for Lebanon, according to sources:
First, by contacting the Syrian authorities and the Russian company to find out their intentions regarding Block 1. Do you aspire to carry out exploration work in the disputed area of this block, or will you move away from this area in accordance with international law that prohibits unilateral exploration in disputed maritime areas?
Second, in light of the answer to this question, it is possible to resort to sending a letter of objection to the Syrian side, directly or through the United Nations Secretariat. That step is necessary, because the international community at that time can interpret Lebanon’s silence as an implicit recognition of Syrian sovereignty over the disputed area.
Apart from the two steps, the most important and logical step remains “to offer demarcation negotiations to the Syrian side. The demarcation of the maritime borders between the two neighbors and the agreement on a common maritime line would solve all the problems and increase the attractiveness of the oil blocks of northern Lebanon. It would also increase the Lebanese state’s share of the profits from these patches, given the absence of the border conflict and the security risks caused by the border dispute, which negatively affect prospective oil companies.
Of course, the maritime borders of northern Lebanon must not be tolerated, and this expedient must be pursued seriously and professionally. However, it is absolutely necessary that this issue does not divert attention from the southern border file, which is more necessary and urgent. According to the contract signed between Syria and Russian Capital Company, exploration work on Syria’s Block No. 1 will not start until after 4 years of exploration work. In the south, the Greek company Energen will begin extraction of the Karish field later this year, exposing Lebanon’s oil and gas resources to the risk of being stolen, especially since half of this field is in Lebanese waters, according to line 29 on which the Lebanese delegation is negotiating.
Although today the main focus is on amending Decree No. 6433 and deposit it with the United Nations to strengthen the Lebanese negotiating position and hamper Israeli exploration work in the border area with “Occupied Palestine”, which represents a great and imminent threat to Lebanon’s oil and gas resources, as well The Lebanese state must be pressured to speed up the reopening of the door to official communication with Syria to complete this file, and not invoke any argument such as the one made by the interim government not having this authority, nor submitting to external pressure that prevents the connection of what was cut between the two countries.
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