According to the AP, Israel confirmed the planned talks last week. The Israeli delegation will be led by Energy Minister Juval Steinic. According to the agency, Barri’s current statement is thus the first confirmation of Lebanon’s planned negotiations.
Israel and Lebanon have no diplomatic relations and are still technically at war. Both countries claim approximately 860 square kilometers of the Mediterranean Sea as part of their exclusive economic zones.
Barri said the talks would take place at UN peacekeeping headquarters in the coastal village of Nakura in southern Lebanon, near the blue line, a UN-Israel buffer zone bordered by Israel. However, Barrí did not specify the date of the meeting.
UN in the role of mediator
Indirect talks in practice mean that Lebanese military negotiators will not negotiate directly with members of the Israeli delegation, but through UN mediators.
According to Barri, it has been acting as a mediator between Lebanon and Israel since 2010. The breakthrough, according to the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, occurred in July this year, when both countries joined the mechanism of indirect negotiations.
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According to Barri, American mediation was deadlocked, but a shift took place in March last year after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Beirut and negotiated a border dispute with local officials.
Pompeo said on Thursday that talks between Israel and Lebanon “have the potential to bring greater stability, security and prosperity to the citizens of both Lebanon and Israel.” He said this in a statement after both states announced that they had agreed in the maritime dispute negotiations.
Hope for oil salvation
The negotiation mechanism agreement comes at a time when Lebanon is in the worst economic and financial crisis in decades. Beirut hopes the discovery of oil and gas in its territorial waters could help it pay off a huge debt. Lebanon began offshore production earlier this year, and according to the AP, gas production in the disputed area can be expected to begin in the coming months.
At a news conference on Thursday, Barri said he had asked French President Emmanuel Macron to persuade energy company Total not to delay exploration for natural gas production in waters along the disputed maritime border.
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