Lebanon says maritime deal with Israel has ‘no political dimensions’

Lebanese President Michel Aoun (C) meets with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati (not seen) after the maritime border agreement between Lebanon and Israel was signed in Beirut, Lebanon on October 11, 2022. [Hussam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency]

Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, on Thursday termed a maritime border deal with Israel as “technical work” without any political dimensions, Anadolu News Agency reports.

“Demarcating the southern maritime border is technical work that has no political implications or effects contradicting Lebanon’s foreign policy,” Aoun said.

On Thursday, Aoun signed the maritime deal with Israel, mediated by the United States.

The Israeli government also ratified the deal, according to an official statement by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Israel and Lebanon have been locked in a dispute over a maritime area of 860 square kilometres (332 square miles) rich in gas and oil, according to maps sent by both countries to the UN in 2011.

Negotiations over the territory in the Mediterranean Sea, which contain part of the Karish gas field and Qana, a prospective gas field, have been ongoing since 2020.

READ: Timeline: At war for decades, Lebanon and Israel edge towards a rare deal

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