Aoun, Berri, Miqati Ask U.S. to Continue Sea Border Demarcation Efforts

President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati held a meeting Friday at the Baabda Palace to discuss the latest U.S. proposal regarding the demarcation of the maritime border with Israel.

The proposal had been submitted to Lebanon during a recent visit to the country by U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein.

“The meeting tackled the results reached by the technical committee that studied Hochstein’s proposal, which comprised representatives of the Presidency, the Premiership, the Army Command (Hydrography Dept.) and the Lebanese Petrol Administration,” the Presidency said in a statement.

“The conferees discussed the observations and inquiries regarding the proposal with the aim of reaching a unified stance that guarantees Lebanon’s rights and full sovereignty over its maritime borders,” the Presidency added.

It said the conferees accordingly decided to call on the Unites States to “continue its efforts for the resumption of the sea border demarcation talks, according to the framework agreement and in a manner that would preserve Lebanon’s highest interest and stability in the region.”

The conferees also emphasized that the file is “national par excellence” and should be “kept away from polarization and futile bickering.”