US gives Lebanon 'pre-clearance' on Syria energy imports sanctions
The United States is extending a "helping hand" to Lebanon, permitting it to import energy through Syria without facing the threat of any sanctions.
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Lebanese President Michel Aoun meets with US Envoy for Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein and US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, February 9, 2022 (AP)
The United States provided Lebanon with a pre-clearance that would allow Beirut to import energy from Egypt and Jordan through Syria, US State Department energy adviser Amos Hochstein said on Thursday.
"We have given them some comfort and pre-clearance based on the information we had to move ahead on the sanctions, but I want to be clear that that will be determined when the contracts are signed," Hochstein said.
What is interesting about the assurance from the United States is that it comes at a time when Lebanon and the Israeli occupation, Washington's most important ally in West Asia, are undergoing a fresh round of tensions over energy resources in the Mediterranean Sea.
A vessel operated by the London-based Energean arrived to develop a gas field known as Karish, which Lebanon says lies within a contested area.
The contested area is at the epicenter of the issue, and it called for Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to urge the Israeli occupation to take its equipment out of the Mediterranean Sea "swiftly and immediately", warning of the repercussions that would stem from any violations of Lebanon's territorial integrity.
Lebanon has been sitting at the table of negotiations with Egypt, Hochstein said, asserting that he believed that the talks had been concluded, as well as those with Jordan. "The agreement with Syria, I believe, is near completion. They'll be meeting this week."
Hochstein also hoped that the talks between Lebanon and Syria would be concluded over the upcoming 10-14 days. "A difficult challenge in those talks will be crafting a deal that will avoid benefitting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad," he added.
The United States strongly opposes Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, so much so that it led an international war on the Syrian Arab Republic and has maintained a military occupation of the country even after more than a decade of war. In a bid to further suffocate Damascus, Washington imposed the Caesar Act, which prohibited all of Syria's allies and neighboring countries from trading with the country.
"I'm in a very consistent touch with all parties hoping that we can get it there because a total collapse of Lebanon is not in the interest of any of the countries in the region or the United States," the adviser added.
Hochstein will visit Beirut on Sunday to discuss the offshore gas issues between Beirut and "Tel Aviv", Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said.
US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea, after similar threats from Hezbollah, declared in August that her country would continue to assist Lebanon in importing electrical energy from Jordan through Syria.
The electrical energy "will be through the provision of quantities of Egyptian gas to Jordan, enabling it to produce additional quantities of electricity to be placed on the network linking Jordan with Lebanon via Syria," Shea's statement said.
The US decision came hours after the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, announced the launch of the first ship loaded with oil derivatives from Iran, and that this ship will be followed by other ships.
