Report: Lebanon asks US to 'allow' TotalEnergies to explore gas in Lebanese waters
U.U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein did not present a proposal related to offshore block 8 or other blocks in his meeting with Lebanese leaders on Monday, a media report said.
“Hochstein told the conferees, ‘the Qana field is certainly fully yours, but Israel is saying that if you want to go to Naqoura, it will not accept any Lebanese demand south of Line 23,’” senior sources told al-Jadeed TV.
“The Lebanese response was that Lebanon would not then accept any demand from Israel north of Line 23 and anything less than this line,” the sources added.
“Hochstein decided to quickly go to Israel after he heard from the three presidents remarks saying that ‘if you will take a long time in delivering an answer, you have to allow TotalEnergies to immediately begin (gas) exploration in our Lebanese blocks, the same as the Israeli enemy has done. If TotalEnergies is not allowed to explore, it will not be easy for us to allow Israel to continue its drilling and extraction works,’” the sources said.
According to al-Jadeed, Lebanon also demanded a guarantee that TotalEnergies would be allowed to immediately start exploration after signing the agreement in Naqoura, prompting Hochstein to reportedly respond: “What if we don’t agree? Can you give me a guarantee that Israel won’t come under any attack?”
“The unified Lebanese response was, ‘No, we can’t, and if negotiations take months, we cannot give you guarantees, but if the issue is settled within days or a week, there will be another response of course, while allowing us to begin exploration,” al-Jadeed added.
Russia’s Sputnik news agency meanwhile said that Lebanon rejected an Israeli proposal calling for giving up a part of block 8 north of Line 23 in return for Israel giving up the Qana gas field.
“Lebanon clung to the Qana field and rejected to give up any square meter in block 8,” the agency quoted a Lebanese diplomatic source as saying.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/291549 |