Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

UN-brokered Lebanon, Israel maritime talks enter third round

1530787
1530787
minus
plus

BEIRUT: Lebanon and Israel on Thursday kicked off a third round of UN-brokered talks over a long-standing dispute on maritime and land border demarcation, a UN source told dpa.


The diplomatically highly sensitive talks come amid a row between Lebanon and Israel stemming from differing methods of demarcation of 856 square kilometres of shared waters.


Previous rounds of negotiations saw the Lebanese delegation present maps and documents demarcating Lebanese border claims, the source said.


“Mainly the talks are focusing on establishing zones that clearly separate the maritime borders’’, a Lebanese military source said,without elaborating further.


The meeting, which is the third since October 14, is being held at the UN peacekeeping forces’ headquarters in the Lebanese border town of Naqoura.


The negotiations are being held at an outdoor camp in compliance with precautions against the new coronavirus pandemic.


The dispute has escalated after natural gas discoveries in the Mediterranean Sea, as both countries claim gas deposits there for themselves.


Lebanon signed its first offshore drilling agreement with an international consortium in 2018, though exploration of the area called Block 9 has not yet begun due to controversy over its ownership.


Israel and Lebanon are officially at war, and there are recurring tensions along the border between the Israeli army and the Hizbullah movement.


But Lebanon has insisted the negotiations are purely technical and do not involve any political normalisation with Israel.


Lebanon, reeling from its worst economic crisis in decades, is


hoping to settle the maritime border dispute so it can continue exploring for hydrocarbon reserves in the Mediterranean.


Exploration is on hold in an area off its coast named Block 9, as a section of it is located in an 860-square-kilometre area claimed by both Israel and Lebanon. NNA said the Lebanese delegation carried with it “maps and documents showing the points of contention and the Israeli enemy infringing on the Lebanese right to include part of Block 9”. — AFP


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon