Bassil says border negotiations within president's power

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil dubbed Wednesday what has been said about land border demarcation with Israel as a flagrant constitutional violation.

Bassil said he was surprised when the Lebanese government told the United Nations that Lebanon is ready to demarcate its southern borders along the Blue Line.

"Border negotiations are within the President's powers," Bassil said.

He added that Lebanon's borders are already demarcated and internationally recognized by the Paulet–Newcombe Agreement and the U.N. Security Council Resolution 425.

"We will not cede any of Lebanon's land and talking about negotiations on our land borders is a violation of the constitution and a suspicious act," Bassil said.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib had said Tuesday that “the proposal for the demarcation of the southern border is serious,” noting that delineation is “the solution for the various disputes on the southern border and it is not normalization.”

“There are 13 disputed points on the border with Israel – seven of which are agreed on and six represent points of contention,” Bou Habib added.