Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Monday said he hopes that a deal on border demarcation with Israel would be completed within days.
In a statement released by Lebanon’s Presidency, Aoun said he “hopes to complete all the arrangements related to the demarcation of the southern maritime borders within the next few days, after the indirect negotiations led by the American mediator Amos Hochstein made good progress, and gaps between the two parties narrowed.”
“Reaching an agreement on maritime border demarcation will enable the exploration for oil and gas in the Lebanese fields located within the exclusive economic zone, which will achieve a new momentum for the process of economic revival,” said the statement.
Hochstein has been in contact with both Lebanon and Israel during the past months, hoping to settle their dispute on maritime borders.
The negotiations on maritime border demarcation between the two sides were launched in 2020 under the auspices of the United Nations with American mediation and then stopped in May 2021 due to differences between the two parties over disputed area. ■
