Border demarcation file reaching 'happy conclusions': Aoun

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Lebanese President General Michel Aoun confirmed on Thursday that the file of demarcating the southern maritime borders is reaching its "happy conclusion", and Lebanon will get the wealth it deserves.

A statement issued by the Lebanese presidency following a Wednesday meeting at the Baabda Palace with the Vice-President of the Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, quoted the president as confirming that matters "have come to their happy conclusion" in the file of demarcating the maritime borders and that Lebanon will get the wealth it deserves.

He pointed out that "no one can give up his sovereign right in light of the one Lebanese position, and the standing of all the Lebanese people with this position," stressing "the necessity of not creating a vacuum at the governmental and presidential levels."

Al-Khatib also stressed "the importance of forming a new government as soon as possible, and that everyone bear responsibility and cooperate to save the country and lift people out of the miserable reality they are suffering from."

Earlier, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed Lebanon's adherence to its sovereignty, wealth, and rights over its territorial waters, saying that his country was close to concluding an agreement with "Israel" on the demarcation of the maritime borders.

It is noteworthy that the US mediator in the file of the demarcation of the southern maritime border, Amos Hochstein, visited Lebanon on September 9 and handed the coordinates of the line of maritime buoys on September 11.

The United States made an offer to the Israeli occupation and Lebanon to resolve the maritime border issue, Israeli media claimed on Monday. The proposal is reportedly linked to the path the Lebanese-Israeli maritime borders will follow.

The settlement proposal, Haaretz said, asked to change and adjust line 23 toward Lebanon instead of near the coast in order to allow for a "bigger defensive area against possible threats from the sea, near the coastline."

The Israeli outlet clarified that the political leadership in "Tel Aviv" was ready to make concessions with regard to Qana and believed that the main achievement would be the stabilization of ties between the two parties in the sea, as well as preventing an escalation related to this issue in the future.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah reiterated his threats against the occupation during a speech on September 17, saying, "Lebanon is facing a golden opportunity that may reoccur by the possibility of extracting gas to address its crisis." He also stressed that oil and gas extraction from the Karish field could not be allowed before Lebanon obtains its full rights, a red line for the Lebanese Resistance group.