Lebanese Army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun (C-R) on Saturday meets with US envoy Amos Hochstein (C-L). (Credit: Lebanese Army)
BEIRUT — Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun on Wednesday held a meeting with Amos Hochstein, the US mediator for talks on the maritime border between Lebanon and occupied Palestine, which are expected to be relaunched.
Here’s what we know:
• In a statement, the army said that Aoun received Hochstein, the US State Department’s senior advisor for energy security, at his Yarzeh offices. The US ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, was also in the sit-down.
• The meeting tackled the issue of the indirect negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on demarcating the border, the army said, with Aoun telling Hochstein that the military would support any decision taken by Lebanon’s political authorities regarding the talk.
• The US embassy in Lebanon tweeted on the meeting, writing, “Where there is a will, there is a way … an agreement on the maritime border could create a much needed opportunity for prosperity for Lebanon’s future.”
• The embassy described the meeting between Hochstein and Aoun as “fruitful."
• Hochstein arrived in Lebanon on Tuesday, with local media reporting he would bring concrete proposals for delimiting the border. The envoy is scheduled to meet with President Michel Aoun, Premier Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
• In October 2020, Lebanon and Israel entered into indirect talks on a disputed stretch of the east Mediterranean Sea, a potentially hydrocarbon-rich area.