Lebanon receives official US letter for Southern border agreement

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen Net
27 Oct 2022 14:44
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The Lebanese president receives the American message regarding the maritime border demarcation agreement, and the US mediator says that this agreement will ensure that neither party to the agreement would seize the other's share.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun and US mediator Amos Hochstein

Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Elias Bou Saab announced that Lebanese President Michel Aoun had signed Lebanon's receipt and approval of the US letter regarding the demarcation of Lebanon's Southern maritime border.

The US mediator, Amos Hochstein, said in a press conference in Beirut, on Thursday "Today is a historic day," on account of reaching an agreement that "will provide great opportunities for Lebanon."

Hochstein pointed out that "this agreement will allow Lebanon to begin working in Block No. 9 without any threats that another will rob it of the bloc's proceeds" and added that "this agreement is between two 'countries' that do not have diplomatic relations between them, and will ensure that neither party to the agreement will seize the other's share."

It is worth noting that the members of the Lebanese delegation who will sign the agreement in Naqoura are the Director-General of the Presidency of the Republic, Antoine Choucair, the Government Coordinator to UNIFIL, Brigadier General P.S.C. Mounir Shehadeh, a member of the Board of Directors of the Oil Authority, Wissam Shabat, and the head of the Legal Consultation Center at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Arafa.

This Thursday afternoon, the signing ceremony will be held at the UN base in the Lebanese border town of Ras Al-Naqoura, in the presence of the UN and the US delegations, noting that an Israeli delegation will be present in a separate room and the Lebanese delegation will not meet or engage with them in any way.

It was reported that "the delegations will be in Naqoura in separate rooms, and it is not expected that pictures of the signings would be taken."

Israeli media reported today that, Prime Minister Yair Lapid has approved the US letter and signed yesterday on the main principles of the agreement developed with the French company TotalEnergies.

It is important to reaffirm that the Lebanese President confirmed that "what was achieved at the level of demarcating the southern maritime borders is the result of a Lebanese decision, reflecting the unity of the national position, and the outcome of difficult negotiations led by the Lebanese team with the American mediator with firmness, shrewdness, and determination."