Berri to hand Hochstein land border draft as file reportedly linked to presidency

During his expected visit to Lebanon in mid-October, U.S. energy mediator Amos Hochstein will receive from Speaker Nabih Berri a draft framework agreement on the demarcation of the land border with Israel, a media report said.

Berri’s draft will comes on response to a U.S. draft that Hochstein had handed to him during his latest visit to Beirut, the privately-owned al-Markazia news agency reported on Monday.

“Land border demarcation and the presidential juncture have been tightly linked as part of (ongoing) bargains and the election of a president has become part of the U.S. mediator’s border mission,” the agency said.

“The demarcation of the land border with Israel will lead to the election of a president for Lebanon,” the agency quoted unnamed sources as saying.

Al-Liwaa newspaper meanwhile reported Monday, quoting political sources, that the five-nation group on Lebanon will maintain French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian’s presidential mission in parallel with the mission of the Qatari envoy.

“At the same time, U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein will carry out efforts with the Lebanese parties to help reconcile viewpoints between them, which would support both the missions of Le Drian and the Qatari envoy in the presidential file and would speed up the efforts to end the presidential vacuum,” the daily added.