US State Department spokesman Ned Price. (Credit: Archive photo AFP/Getty Images)
BEIRUT — The US State Department spokesman Ned Price told al-Hurra TV Tuesday that he has “no information to share” regarding US envoy Amos Hochstein paying Lebanon a new visit, adding that since his last trip to the region, Hochstein “has remained engaged with both sides,” Israel and Lebanon, who have been embroiled in a dispute over the maritime borders.
Here’s what we know:
• This conflicts with President Michel Aoun’s announcement on Monday, when he informed the United Nations’ Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka about “the return of the US mediator Amos Hochstein to Lebanon at the end of this week to discuss the latest developments related to the indirect negotiations for demarcating the border,” the Presidency’s Twitter account reported.
• Last week, Price also said that his department has “not yet announced a trip” for Hochstein to Lebanon. Hochstein last visited Lebanon in his capacity as mediator in June.
• When asked by al-Hurra TV to comment on Hezbollah’s leader claiming readiness to “[go] to a fight” with Israel if Lebanon’s offshore oil and gas claims are infringed on, and whether those threats would affect the American mediation in this dispute, Price said that the state department is “aware of this information,”indicating, however, that the US won’t “respond to the threats but will remain committed to facilitating negotiations between Lebanon and Israel to reach a decision on the delineation of the maritime border.”
• Price added that “progress towards a solution can only be achieved through negotiations between the two governments.” He also said, “We welcome the openness of both parties to reach a final decision that has the potential to lead to more stability, security and prosperity for both Lebanon and Israel as well as for the region. We believe that a solution is possible.”
• Tensions stirred over maritime borders after Israel deployed a vessel on June 5 to the disputed Karish gas field, which is intersected by a border line claimed by Lebanon. Aoun foresaw a timely resolution of the border dispute in a statement in early July after Hochstein visited Lebanon in June to receive the government’s official proposal.