U.S. Suggests New Proposal to End Maritime Dispute between Lebanon, Israel
The U.S. suggested a new proposal to end the dispute between Lebanon and Israel over the two countries Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), As Safir newspaper reported on Friday.
According to the newspaper, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Diplomacy Amos Hochstein paid a quick visit to Beirut on November 9 in an attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute.
Hochstein proposed the demarcation of the two countries maritime border by establishing a “maritime Blue line,” similar to the U.N.-drawn Blue Line that separates southern Lebanon and northern Israel, where the disputed zones would not be exploited by any of the two countries until the demarcation ends.
The report said that oil in gas investments would kick off in the meantime in the undisputed areas, according to an understanding between the two sides.
Lebanon and Israel are bickering over a maritime zone that consists of about 854 square kilometers and suspected energy reserves there could generate billions of dollars.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati confirmed in comments published in As Safir that the U.S. proposed a new solution, considering it a “reasonable proposal.
He pointed out that the proposal requires consultations with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil “in order to act responsibly with the matter and take a decision that would be in the country's best interest.”
For his part, Bassil told the newspaper that several other suggestions were proposed.
“The matter surpassed demarcation of maritime border as discussions have reached the size of the resources,” he noted.
“Unfortunately, the matter requires a steadfast decision by the Lebanese and serious steps to advance in the matter,” Bassil said.
Lebanese officials continuously expressed fear that Israel's discovery of a new offshore gas field near Lebanese territorial waters means the Jewish state could siphon some of Lebanon's crude oil.
Lebanon has been slow to exploit its maritime resources compared with other eastern Mediterranean countries. Israel, Cyprus and Turkey are all much more advanced in drilling for oil and gas.
In March 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil and a mean of 34.5 trillion cubic meters of recoverable gas in the Levant Basin in the eastern Mediterranean, which includes the territorial waters of Lebanon, Israel, Syria and Cyprus.
The U.S. had offered to mediate between the sides in an attempt to reach a solution.
Beirut argues that a maritime map it submitted to the U.N. is in line with an armistice accord drawn up in 1949, an agreement which is not contested by Israel.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/107740 |