Lebanon leader asks US envoy to present maritime border dispute ideas to Israel

By AP 14 June 2022, 4:04 pm

Edit

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, right, meets with US Envoy for Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein, center left, at the presidential palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, June 14, 2022. (Dalati Nohra via AP)

Lebanon’s president presented suggestions related to the disputed maritime border with Israel to the US envoy mediating between the two countries, the president’s office says.

Aoun’s office says he gave US envoy Amos Hochstein a response to his February proposal over the ongoing maritime border dispute and asked him to forward it “to the Israeli side.” Aoun tells the US diplomat that he hopes Hochstein will return soon to Lebanon with Israel’s answers.

A Lebanese official who attended the meetings tells The Associated Press that they focused on the disputed area of the Mediterranean and that the additional area Lebanon was pushing for — known in Lebanon as Line 29 — was shelved.

“The Israelis are totally refusing to talk about Line 29,” the official says, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the negotiations with the media.