Bou Saab criticizes Hezbollah drones timing, voices optimism on talks

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab has said that there is a chance to finalize the sea border demarcation negotiations during the remaining few months of President Michel Aoun’s term.

“We have a chance to achieve that within two months to pave the way for returning to Naqoura,” Bou Saab said in an interview with the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper.

“We can say from today that when negotiations resume in Naqoura, they will be different than the past, which means that the (Lebanese) team will not go there to obstruct, but rather to find a solution while preserving Lebanon’s full rights,” Bou Saab added.

“Performance mistakes were committed and the technical-military team could have remained a technical-military team while leaving political and diplomatic tactics to politicians,” the Deputy Speaker added, in renewed criticism against the team.

“Mistakes were committed in the media and in the talks with the other party that made us run into a delay,” Bou Saab went on to say.

He added that today Lebanon should “benefit from those keen technicians, as well as from politicians, so that we continue with this file and obtain the utmost limit that preserves Lebanon’s interest.”

“In negotiations, we make demands and the other party does the same, but eventually we should reach a middle ground,” Bou Saab said, noting that “it is not right to say that we either obtain Line 29 or we be labeled as traitors.”

“Between Line 29 and the Hoff Line, we will eventually reach a line that would satisfy both parties,” the Deputy Speaker added.

Asked whether Hezbollah’s sending of drones towards the Karish field had represented “a message of support for Lebanon’s stance in the negotiations,” Bou Saab said that “there are two viewpoints.”

“The first suggests that it will speed up the negotiations. But in my opinion, the move should not have happened in this stage, specifically because the negotiations are moving forward in a fast pace,” Bou Saab added.

“The issue of the drones has returned us to the point of addressing the possibility of continuing the negotiations, instead of continuing the discussion of the points we have already reached,” the Deputy Speaker lamented.

Addressing Israel, Bou Saab said “the other party must know that the best solution is to move forward quickly through continuing the negotiations.”

“There are common intersections and interest that Lebanon should benefit from. The Europeans need gas and they have signed agreements with Egypt and Israel, and stability in the region is necessary to continue the production of gas and this is a point of strength for Lebanon,” the Deputy Speaker added.

He also pointed out that Hezbollah’s drones were launched “without the knowledge of the Lebanese state and those concerned with negotiations,” adding that he does not have an answer over the motives.

He, however, called for “continuing the negotiations,” while noting that “Lebanon is negotiating from a position of strength.”