The Lebanese President received Michel Aoun On Tuesday, he called his American counterpart, Joe Biden, to congratulate him on the completion of negotiations to demarcate the maritime borders with Israel, after an American mediation that lasted for months.
The Lebanese presidency announced in a tweet that Biden congratulated Aoun during the call “on the conclusion of negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime borders,” and assured him “the United States stands by Lebanon to achieve stability and enable it to strengthen its economy and benefit from its natural resources.”
Since the beginning of June, developments related to the file have accelerated after a pause for months due to disputes over the disputed area. After meetings and shuttle contacts between the two parties, the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, made his last offer over the past few days.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid announced that a “historic” agreement had been reached to demarcate the maritime border with Lebanon.
The Presidency of the Lebanese Republic considered that the final version of the American offer was “satisfactory to Lebanon (…) and preserved Lebanon’s rights to its natural wealth.” It is assumed that an official Lebanese position will be issued soon.
The Lebanese authorities are counting on the presence of oil reserves that would help the country to overcome the catastrophic repercussions of the prolonged economic collapse for nearly three years.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah, Israel’s archenemy, threatened Israel with a military escalation, warning it against undertaking any activity in the Karish field, which Lebanon considered to be located in a disputed area, before reaching an agreement to demarcate the maritime borders.
And the Secretary-General of Hezbollah will deliver Hassan Nasrallah In the evening, he gave a televised speech during which he is likely to address the agreement.
Under the new agreement, the Karish field will be completely on the Israeli side, while the agreement guarantees Lebanon the Qana field, which goes beyond the demarcation line separating the two parties.