US Mediator: Lebanon, Israel May Sign Maritime Demarcation Deal on October 27
A picture shows a cable car an a view of maritime border markers in Mediterranean waters off Israel’s Rosh Hanikra, known in Lebanon as Ras al-Naqura, at the border between the two countries, on October 7, 2022
MOSCOW, (Sputnik) – US State Department envoy Amos Hochstein, who serves as a mediator in negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, said on Sunday that the signing of an agreement on the demarcation of bilateral maritime border was scheduled for October 27.Lebanon and Israel reached a historic agreement on maritime demarcation on October 13.”We are going to have a deal, hopefully sign it, this Thursday [October 27], and I hope this continues our commitment to stability in the region and prosperity for both countries,” Hochstein told US broadcaster CBS.The negotiations on the demarcation of land and maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel have been taking place in the Lebanese city of Naqoura since 1996 on the basis of a memorandum of understanding under the UN auspices and the US mediation. In June 2022, Israel urged the Lebanese authorities to speed up the talks. The draft agreement settles claims to gas reserves in disputed waters.
