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Lebanon: Deputy Speaker Says Assault on Gaza Delayed Demarcation Talks with Israel

A base for peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured in Naqoura, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon November 11, 2020. (Reuters)
A base for peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured in Naqoura, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon November 11, 2020. (Reuters)
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Lebanon: Deputy Speaker Says Assault on Gaza Delayed Demarcation Talks with Israel

A base for peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured in Naqoura, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon November 11, 2020. (Reuters)
A base for peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured in Naqoura, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon November 11, 2020. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab stated on Thursday that the latest Israeli aggression against the Gaza strip has delayed the country’s demarcation border talks with Israel.

Bou Saab stressed, after his meeting with President Michel Aoun, that the US mediator Amos Hochstein continues negotiations over the demarcation of Lebanon’s southern maritime border with Israel.

He said Israel’s latest assault on the Gaza Strip has delayed the talks.

“The time for negotiations is not open to infinity. The closer we get to the month of September, the more critical time becomes in this file. To preserve stability, things must end before September” the Deputy Speaker said.

"The US envoy had only visited Israel the day he left Beirut," he noted, adding that "we are following up with him on the matter."

“Hochstein’s efforts continue based on his latest meeting in Baabda (with the President),” Bou Saab said noting that Lebanon is following up with him on the matter.

On the talks with the IMF to provide Lebanon with aid, he said the parliament must first approve a 2022 budget and a new bank secrecy law to fight corruption.

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Damascus, Ankara Agree Natural Gas Deal for Syria

A drone view shows the power plant in Aleppo, Syria, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the power plant in Aleppo, Syria, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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Damascus, Ankara Agree Natural Gas Deal for Syria

A drone view shows the power plant in Aleppo, Syria, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the power plant in Aleppo, Syria, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)

Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir said Friday Damascus and Ankara had reached a deal for Türkiye to supply natural gas to the war-torn country via a pipeline in the north.

"I agreed with my Turkish counterpart Alparslan Bayraktar on supplying Syria with six million cubic meters of natural gas a day through the Kilis-Aleppo pipeline," Bashir said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA.

Kilis is near Türkiye’s border with Syria, which is north of the city of Aleppo.

The deal will "contribute to increasing the hours of electricity provision and improve the energy situation in Syria", Bashir added.

Syria's authorities, who toppled Bashar al-Assad in December, are seeking to rebuild the country's infrastructure and economy after almost 14 years of civil war.

The conflict badly damaged Syria's power infrastructure, leading to cuts that can last for more than 20 hours a day.

Bayraktar told the private CNN-Turk broadcaster late Thursday that "we will provide natural gas to Syria from Kilis within the next three months".

"This gas will be used in electricity generation at the natural gas power plant in Aleppo," he said, confirming an expected daily flow of six million cubic meters.

In March, Qatar said it had begun funding gas supplies to Syria from Jordan, in a move aimed at addressing electricity production shortages and improving infrastructure.

That announcement said the initiative was set to generate up to 400 megawatts of electricity daily in the first phase, with production capacity to gradually increase at the Deir Ali station southeast of Damascus.

Both Türkiye and Qatar have close ties with Syria's transitional government, and were the first two countries to reopen their embassies in Damascus after Assad's ouster.

Both have also urged the lifting of sanctions on Syria.

In January, Syria's electricity chief said two power ships were being sent from Türkiye and Qatar to increase supply after the United States eased sanctions, allowing fuel and electricity donations to Syria for six months.

Last month, Britain said it was lifting energy production sector sanctions, a move Damascus said would "directly contribute to improving" Syrians' living conditions.