Aoun: Lebanon to continue indirect border demarcation talks with Israel

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said yesterday that Beirut is committed to its full rights to invest its natural resources, especially gas and oil, and is willing to continue indirect negotiations with Israel to demarcate the maritime borders.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres in Beirut, Aoun affirmed Lebanon’s commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, maintaining stability on the southern border with Israel, and permanent cooperation between the Lebanese army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon UNIFIL.

He denounced the “continued Israeli violations on land, sea and air, especially the use of Lebanese airspace as a launching pad for repeated air attacks on Syria.”

Aoun added that he stressed during his meeting with Guterres, “the need to find a new approach to the issue of the displaced Syrians in Lebanon and the huge burdens that it poses, especially in light of the current circumstances, and the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities and encourage the safe return of the displaced to their villages and homeland.”

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Guterres said international support for the Lebanese army and the rest of the security institutions which are “essential to preserving stability in Lebanon” will continue.