Berri from Cyprus: We Fear Israel May Exploit Deals with Cyprus to Violate our Rights
Speaker Nabih Berri requested on Thursday that Cyprus support the proposal that the United Nations demarcate Lebanon’s maritime border and exclusive economic zone.
He said: “We appreciate Cyprus’ understanding of our fears that Israel may exploit its agreements with Cyprus in order to violate Lebanon’s petroleum wealth and increase its violations of the country’s sovereignty.”
He made his statements after holding talks in Cyprus with Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis at the end of his trip to the island country.
Addressing the Arab revolts, the speaker remarked: “Lebanon’s policy of distancing itself from these developments will help maintain the country’s stability and security.”
“It guarantees that our border will not be open to arms smuggling or allow the spread of violence to the internal scene,” Berri noted.
“All the Lebanese ultimately want stability and security to be restored in Syria,” he added.
“The Syrians themselves should be able to determine their political future, away from foreign intervention,” he stressed.
For her part, Kozakou-Marcoullis stated that there are “no problems between Lebanon and Cyprus over the demarcation of exclusive economic zone.”
She voiced her country’s readiness to help Lebanon demarcate this zone.
On Wednesday, Berri said Lebanon had concerns Israel might deny it “its right to more than 850 nautical square kilometers” in maritime resources, stressing that “the problem is not between Lebanon and Cyprus, but rather between Lebanon and Israel.”
During a joint press conference with his Cypriot counterpart Yiannakis Omirou in Cyprus, Berri stated: “The U.N. has recently become convinced that it has to intervene in order to resolve this issue,” referring to the disputed oil and gas resources.
“The problem is not between Lebanon and Cyprus, but rather between Lebanon and Israel, and all that we fear is that Israel might take advantage of the tensions concerning the issue of Turkey in order to exploit the situation and deny Lebanon its right to more than 850 nautical square kilometers,” he added.
In January the Lebanese government endorsed plans to implement legislation that will clear the way for offshore oil and gas exploration.
"We now have everything required for an oil company to have enough information to begin its activities, and we are on the right track to start offshore drilling," Energy Minister Jebran Bassil told Agence France Presse.
Bassil said Lebanon hoped to have exploration contracts with international oil companies signed and sealed by the end of the year.
In August, parliament passed a law setting Lebanon's maritime boundary and Exclusive Economic Zone.
Lebanon has also submitted to the United Nations a maritime map that conflicts significantly with one proposed by Israel.
Lebanon argues its map is in line with an armistice accord drawn up in 1949, an agreement which is not contested by Israel.
The disputed zone consists of about 854 square kilometers, and suspected energy reserves there could generate billions of dollars.
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.
The Hizbullah-led government has warned that Lebanon will not give up its maritime rights, while Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to defend Lebanon’s maritime resources.
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