Lebanon and Israel resumed on Tuesday indirect negotiations on the demarcation of maritime boundaries mediated by the United States and the United Nations, Lebanese national agency NNA reported.
“The fifth round of indirect negotiations on the demarcation of the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel, mediated by the United States and under the auspices of the UN, started today in Ras Nakura”, – the agency writes.
In October, the representatives of Lebanon and Israel in indirect negotiations continued to discuss the principles of demarcation. The parties parted in positions to define the baseline and starting point. After that, the negotiation process was again stopped.
In the fall of 2020, negotiations resumed on the basis of 860 square kilometers of disputed territories. However, during the meetings, the Lebanese side announced a new line, which increases the area of the disputed water area by 1,420 square kilometers and captures part of the Israeli Karish field. The Israeli side refused to discuss new requirements.
Negotiations on the definition of a land and sea border between Lebanon and Israel have been going on in the Naqura settlement in southern Lebanon since 1996 on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding under the auspices of the United Nations and mediated by the United States.