One day after Lebanon and Israel reached a draft-agreement on the demarcation of their maritime borders, senior US officials said they expect “other difficult moments” during the implementation of the agreement.
The officials stressed that negotiations did not include consultations with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
The agreement was described as a “historic breakthrough” settling a decades-old maritime border dispute over the control of resources along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.
According to the final text of the draft dated Oct. 10, 2022 and leaked by an Israeli journalist, the said agreement shall enter into force on the date the United States Government sends a communication containing confirmation of each party’s consent to the provisions of this agreement.
The final text also stated that on the day on which such notification is sent, Lebanon and Israel will simultaneously send to the United Nations identical coordinates defining the location of the maritime boundary.
A senior US official told a group of journalists that the US-led mediation in the maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel “began more than ten years ago” under President Barack Obama and then Vice President Joe Biden, and did not lead to any result until 2020 when the two sides announced the cessation of negotiations.
Biden’s administration resumed its mediation in the fall of 2021, “in pursuit of (...) a paradigm shift that would allow for a breakthrough.”
The senior US official referred to two calls that Biden had on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Lebanese President Michel Aoun, stressing that the move would be in the interest of Lebanon, which “is suffering from a major economic crisis.”
“Without addressing the energy and electricity crisis, it is impossible to see any hope of economic recovery,” he said, stressing that this agreement would provide Lebanon with “new possibilities for foreign direct investment”, especially in the energy sector.
He also pointed out that Israel was “very successful” in developing large gas and hydrocarbon resources in the Mediterranean, noting the agreement with Lebanon “will provide it with a kind of security and stability.”
The US official stated, however, that the negotiations “were not easy,” expecting “other difficult moments” during the implementation of the agreement. He added that the US “will continue to provide its assistance in facilitating any future discussions.”
In response to a question about the impact of the threats made by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on the negotiations and the agreement, the senior US official said that “the Karish field is not in the disputed area,” stressing that the negotiations “did not take place in light of (…) threats.”
He expected the two countries to sign the agreement “as soon as possible,” adding that the negotiations that were conducted under American mediation did not include discussions with Hezbollah.
Asked about the Arab Gas Pipeline agreement, he said the US officials believe that “importing gas from Egypt through Jordan, up to Lebanon, is a positive development for the country.”
“We will conduct a final review in the United States to make sure that [the project] is in line with the American sanctions,” the US official said, referring to Caesar’s Act against Syria.
He also expressed his “confidence that we can deliver gas to Lebanon on a fairly rapid basis if the country actually takes the reform steps that it has committed to.”
