Lebanese President Michel Aoun during his televised address, Oct. 13, 2022. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT — In a televised speech Thursday evening, President Michel Aoun said Lebanon "approves" the final draft of the maritime border deal with Israel.
"I hope this will be a promising start that will lay the foundations for the economic jumpstart Lebanon needs," Aoun said. He expressed hope that the deal would open the door to "oil and gas exploration, with the view of achieving stability, security and development."
Aoun added that Lebanon is still awaiting the signature of the Americans and Israelis, "in accordance with the established agreement."
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's office issued a statement after receiving the final draft of the agreement, saying “Israel and Lebanon have reached a historic agreement settling the maritime dispute."
"Lebanon has the right to consider what was accomplished yesterday a historic achievement, for we were able to recover a disputed area of 860 square kilometers, and Lebanon did not concede any single kilometer to Israel," Aoun said in his speech. "We also obtained the entire Qana field, without having to pay any remuneration, although the whole field is not located inside our waters."
The Qana field is intersected by the Lebanese-Israeli maritime borders and potentially contains viable natural gas reserves.
In the coming days, “TotalEnergies will have to start exploration works in the Qana field, as promised, so that we can make up for the years that have passed without being able to extract oil and gas, at a time when Israel was pursuing its exploration and extraction operations, which resulted in an imbalance in the petroleum activities," Aoun continues.
Deal to be presented to Parliament
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri asked the General Secretariat of Parliament to "send a copy of the agreement on the delineation of the southern maritime border to all deputies for consultation, following the approval of the text by the government," after some MPs demanded that the agreement be studied and voted by the legislative authority.
For his part, Lapid wants the agreement to be ratified before Israeli parliamentary elections, scheduled for Nov. 1. However, the deal's official ratification still depends on political and legal factors on both sides of the border.
"The next step should be to hold talks with Syria to resolve the disputed area ... through brotherly discussions," Aoun added. "It is also necessary to review the demarcated borders with Cyprus and decide what should be done in the future."