Lebanon: Differences on border demarcation with Israel can be solved

Lebanese President Michel Aoun expressed on Wednesday that the difficulties of the demarcation of maritime borders with Israel can be solved.

His remarks came during a meeting at the presidential palace with head of the US delegation, Ambassador John Deroche, mediating in indirect negotiations to demarcate southern maritime borders.

“The difficulties which emerged in the last negotiations round can be overcome through in-depth research based on international rights, articles of the law of the sea and all the legal texts thereof,” the Lebanese presidency reported Aoun stating.

Meanwhile, he announced: “Lebanon maintains its sovereignty over its land and waters, and wants the maritime demarcation negotiations to succeed to enhance stability in the south, and enable the investment in natural resources, such as gas and oil.”

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Aoun further stressed: “To continue negotiations in order to achieve the goal of conducting them, and if this fails, for any reason, other alternatives can be studied.”

For his part, Deroche expressed his desire for the negotiations to continue for the interest of all.

The fifth round of talks on the issue was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, a source informed Anadolu Agency, but it was indefinitely postponed.

In October, the talks brokered by the US and the UN aimed to demarcate the maritime borders with Israel, which are rich with hydrocarbon energy sources.