Lebanon is counting on the positive US mediation role in negotiations with Israel on the demarcation of the disputed maritime border, President Michel Aoun said on Friday in the wake of a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker
BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2020) Lebanon is counting on the positive US mediation role in negotiations with Israel on the demarcation of the disputed maritime border, President Michel Aoun said on Friday in the wake of a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker.
The first round of US-mediated indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel started on Wednesday under the auspices of the United Nations at the organization's headquarters in Lebanon's southern town of Naqoura. The second meeting is scheduled to be held on October 28.
"President Michel Aoun has notified US Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker that Lebanon looks forward to the US mediation role in a bid to achieve fair decisions during negotiations on the demarcation of the southern maritime border," Aoun's office wrote on Twitter.
The role of Washington can help overcome a number of issues related to the negotiation process, the Lebanese leader added.
Schenker, in turn, assured Aoun that the United States would continue its mediation efforts to resolve maritime disputes between the two middle Eastern countries and also expressed hope for the earliest conclusion of talks with positive results.
The negotiations seek to resolve an overlap between the two rival nations' territorial waters and exclusive economic zones by an area of roughly 330 square miles, which is situated over large oil and gas deposits beneath the Mediterranean seabed.
