Lebanon Reviews Means to Confront Israel’s Oil Exploration in Disputed Area

 Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib met on Tuesday at the Baabda Palace to discuss Israel’s oil exploration project. (Photo: Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib met on Tuesday at the Baabda Palace to discuss Israel’s oil exploration project. (Photo: Dalati & Nohra)
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Lebanon Reviews Means to Confront Israel’s Oil Exploration in Disputed Area

 Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib met on Tuesday at the Baabda Palace to discuss Israel’s oil exploration project. (Photo: Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib met on Tuesday at the Baabda Palace to discuss Israel’s oil exploration project. (Photo: Dalati & Nohra)

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib discussed in a meeting on Tuesday the means to confront Israel’s decision to explore oil in the disputed maritime area.

In a statement, the Lebanese Presidency said that the meeting reviewed recent developments, following Israel’s announcement that it granted a US oilfield services group an offshore drilling contract in the Mediterranean.

The Lebanese officials discussed the repercussions of the Israeli move and the measures that Lebanon will take following a letter sent to the United Nations in this regard.

Presidential sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon was seeking to conduct the necessary studies to ascertain whether the exploration would be carried out in the disputed area, through a mediator such as the United Nations, and then work on the subsequent steps and procedures.

As the negotiations on the demarcation of the border between Lebanon and Israel stalled due to a dispute over maps, US Halliburton Company announced last week that it has been awarded an integrated services contract to execute a three to five well drilling and completions campaign for Greek Energean company.

“We will not back down on this issue or give up on Lebanese rights,” Mikati said in a statement following the announcement.

Lebanon’s representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Amal Mudallali, submitted a letter to the UN on this matter, in which the country called on the Security Council to ensure that the drilling evaluation work does not take place in a disputed area in order to avoid any attack on Lebanon’s rights and sovereignty.



South Korea Establishes Diplomatic Ties with Syria

 In this photo provided by South Korea Foreign Ministry, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani after signing a joint statement on the establishment of diplomatic ties between the countries in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (South Korea Foreign Ministry via AP)
In this photo provided by South Korea Foreign Ministry, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani after signing a joint statement on the establishment of diplomatic ties between the countries in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (South Korea Foreign Ministry via AP)
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South Korea Establishes Diplomatic Ties with Syria

 In this photo provided by South Korea Foreign Ministry, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani after signing a joint statement on the establishment of diplomatic ties between the countries in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (South Korea Foreign Ministry via AP)
In this photo provided by South Korea Foreign Ministry, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani after signing a joint statement on the establishment of diplomatic ties between the countries in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (South Korea Foreign Ministry via AP)

South Korea and Syria have signed an agreement in Damascus establishing diplomatic relations, the South Korean foreign ministry said on Friday, opening new ties with a traditional ally of its rival North Korea.

The event marks a milestone for South Korea now having established diplomatic ties with all 191 UN member states and opening "a new chapter for bilateral cooperation with Syria, which had long remained distant due to its close ties with North Korea," the South Korean foreign ministry said.

South Korea established diplomatic relations with Cuba last year, another old ally of the North.

North Korea's state media ceased mentions of Syria since the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad in December except leader Kim Jong Un once referring to "the Middle East crisis" in passing.

A joint communique was signed by South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Syria's Asaad al-Shaibani on Thursday, and Cho expressed willingness to share South Korea's development experience to support Syria's reconstruction, the ministry said.

Cho later met Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, it said.