US and UN optimistic about Israel-Lebanon maritime talks, inform of significant progress

The United States and United Nations on Thursday, October 29 said that the initials talks between Israel and Lebanon have turned out to be productive and are scheduled to resume in November. For the first time ever, Israel and Lebanon have entered into direct talks over a longstanding maritime border dispute. As per reports, the talks were held inside a tent in a southern Lebanese border town and were hosted by the United Nations with the US mediating.

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Talks between two hostile nations makes progress

Israel and Lebanon have no formal diplomatic ties and are technically at war; these talks mark the first non-security dialogue between the two countries. While the talks are scheduled to resume next month, no official date has been set.

On the Lebanese side, the talks were led by the army and reportedly lasted for four hours on Thursday. A joint statement mentioned that Israel and Lebanon had made significant progress during their multiple talks which were held on October 14, 28 and 29, and added that the US and UN bodies present hoped that the talks would lead to a resolution to the dispute.

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While either side is yet to make a comment on the talks, reports claim that Lebanon plans to take a ‘maximalist stance’ and will bring new maps to the negotiating table that could include lucrative oil and gas fields. Reacting to the reports, an Israeli official said that Israel would not accept Lebanon’s approach which they believe would encroach on their Karish gas field.

The disputed maritime zone contains lucrative oil and gas fields that each nation wants to claim for itself. Lebanon hopes that if the dispute is resolved, the oil and gas fields may allow it to survive an economic slump the country has been experiencing for a while now.

(With AP inputs, Image AP)

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