The US mediator in the indirect talks on border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel threatened to withdraw from the negotiations if no real progress was achieved before Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for spring 2022.
Political sources in Tel Aviv quoted Amos Hochstein as saying that the two sides were not making a serious effort to advance the negotiations and were missing the opportunity to reach an agreement, Israeli Walla news site reported on Sunday.
Hochstein, the US State Department’s senior advisor on energy security, who was appointed as a mediator last October, met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and other officials in Lebanon late last month.
He also held recent talks with Israeli Energy Minister Karin Elharrar, as well as several officials from the ministries of energy, foreign affairs and defense.
The US senior official said that he believed that the coming months leading up to the Lebanese elections in March 2022 presented an opportunity to reach an agreement, adding that he wanted the two sides to present effective suggestions that would help him formulate realistic mediation proposals.
The officials quoted by Walla news confirmed that Hochstein informed both sides that he intends to conduct a limited number of tours between Beirut and Jerusalem, but that he will not resume direct or indirect negotiations, unless he receives encouraging signs that will make him put forward compromise proposals.
Hochstein is an Israeli national, who also holds US citizenship. He serves as the US special envoy for energy security and is considered a close associate to President Joe Biden.
