Schenker Returns to Beirut Soon over Southern Border Demarcation

In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese President Michel Aoun, right, meets with David Schenker, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, at the presidential palace, in Baabda east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. (AP Photo)
In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese President Michel Aoun, right, meets with David Schenker, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, at the presidential palace, in Baabda east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. (AP Photo)
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Schenker Returns to Beirut Soon over Southern Border Demarcation

In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese President Michel Aoun, right, meets with David Schenker, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, at the presidential palace, in Baabda east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. (AP Photo)
In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese President Michel Aoun, right, meets with David Schenker, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, at the presidential palace, in Baabda east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. (AP Photo)

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker is expected to return to Beirut soon to resume the mediation that was carried out by his predecessor David Satterfield on a maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel, diplomats said.

Satterfield left the job after being appointed Ambassador to Turkey.

The diplomats, who refused to be identified, told Asharq Al-Awsat that during his trip to Beirut, Schenker would discuss ways to resolve the border dispute.

Last May, Lebanese President Michel Aoun discussed with Satterfield the proposals handed over by Lebanon to US Ambassador to Beirut Elizabeth Richard, which included an action mechanism that could be adopted to demarcate the southern maritime border.

Schenker’s expected visit to Beirut would be his second to the Lebanese capital since his appointment by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In September, Schenker met with top Lebanese officials, including Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Aoun told Schenker that Lebanon hopes that the United States would continue its mediation efforts, picking up where things stopped with Satterfield.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned last month that Lebanese officials believe that the appointment of Schenker to resume the US role in solving the maritime border dispute is a sign on Pompeo’s eagerness for a demarcation without Israel flexing its muscles.

In his meeting with the Lebanese officials, Schenker said the US was ready to “renew efforts toward the demarcation of land and sea borders in south Lebanon,” and was keen to strengthen bilateral relations, especially in terms of supporting the Lebanese military.

On Friday, a Lebanese official said that Washington wants indirect negotiations between Israel and Lebanon to succeed, because an agreement between the two sides would help in oil and gas exploration in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between Lebanon and Israel.



Iraq Reiterates Need for Int’l Coalition Forces to Remain

A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)
A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)
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Iraq Reiterates Need for Int’l Coalition Forces to Remain

A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)
A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)

Iraq’s security and defense committee announced on Sunday that “the need still stands” for the US-led anti-ISIS international coalition to remain in the country.

It made its announcement days after Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbasi made similar remarks.

In televised statements, he stressed that the international troops were still needed in Syria, adding that “Iraq and Syria’s security are indivisible.”

Security and military coordination with the coalition continues, he said.

Baghdad has not received any official notice about the withdrawal of the forces from Syria or Iraq, he revealed.

Iraq had in 2024 held three rounds of dialogue with the United States about organizing the presence of the coalition after the completion of the pullout of remaining American forces.

Pro-Iran factions in Iraq, which had for years demanded the withdrawal, have so far not commented on the latest statements about the coalition.

Abbasi added that the American and coalition forces were necessary in Syria to maintain the fight against ISIS remnants, which continue to be a cross-border threat.

The US Defense Department recently said that American troop movement from northern and eastern Syria to more secure locations in Iraq was part of a calculated, safe and professional redeployment plan aimed at consolidating the successes against ISIS and cementing regional stability.

It does not mean the end of the coalition’s mission in Syria, it added.

A Pentagon official said local partners remain in the field in Syria and are an effective force against ISIS.

The US will continue to empower those partners in performing most of their remaining counter-terrorism duties, including guarding ISIS detainees, he went on to say.

ISIS is seeking to exploit any instability in the area, but the US efforts to deter its resurgence cannot be underestimated. The coalition remains committed to achieving the permanent defeat of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, he vowed.

Member of the security and defense committee Yasser Iskander Watout said on Sunday that Iraq needs major logistic and aerial support since the means at its disposal were not enough to control borders with neighbors.

The continued deployment of the international coalition forces is “necessary and realistic”, he said.

The Interior Ministry and border and security forces have secured the border with Syria, but members of the committee said the need remains for aerial support to bolster stability in the area, he revealed.

Watout agreed with Abbasi on the need for the international forces to remain given that it boasts air forces that have effectively secured Iraq’s skies.

He noted that recent government contracts for the purchase of 14 modern jets “were not enough to cover all our needs.”

The coalition currently has 2,500 forces deployed in Iraq to counter ISIS and offer Iraqi forces logistic support.

Pro-Iran factions that have long been opposed to the international troops have not commented on the recent statements on their continued deployment given the Israeli threats against Tehran and US President Donald Trump’s urging of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against carrying out attacks against the factions themselves.