US envoy Amos Hochstein talks with Lebanese President Michel Aoun in the presence of US Ambassador Dorothy Shea during a previous visit to Lebanon. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — US envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut on Tuesday, as Lebanon and Israel are expected to relaunch talks on maritime border divisions for offshore hydrocarbon exploitation.
Here’s what we know:
• Hochstein is set to meet with President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Commander-in-Chief of the army, Gen. Joseph Aoun. According to local media, the American emissary, whose visit to Lebanon had been postponed a number of times, returns with concrete proposals concerning the delimitation of the border.
• According to reports in local media outlets, talks on importing electricity and gas from Jordan and Egypt via Syria are also on the agenda.
• This two-day visit comes after Lebanon had announced at the end of January that it was ready to resume negotiations under the leadership of the UN and Washington.
• Talks between Lebanon and Israel began in October 2020 on the disputed area of 860 square kilometers shared between the two countries. The Hof line, named after American diplomat Frederic Hof who mediated talks between 2010 and 2012, gave Lebanon 55 percent of this area compared to 45 percent to Israel.
• Lebanon then raised the stakes during the negotiations, demanding an additional 1,430 square kilometer area in the delimitation of the maritime border with Israel, but these talks were eventually suspended in December 2020.