'Manoushe' before talks: Hochstein in Beirut to follow up on border deal

Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden Amos Hochstein arrived Wednesday in Lebanon on a two-day visit to follow-up on the October 2022 maritime boundary agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

Before meeting Speaker Nabih Berri and later caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Hochstein had a quick coffee & a Lebanese manoushe with U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea.

"Great to be back in Beirut," Hochstein wrote on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

"Quick coffee & manoushe at Falamanki with the beautiful iconic view overlooking Raouche," he added.

Hochstein will also reportedly meet with caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and Army Commander General Joseph Aoun.

He will discuss areas of mutual and regional concern, the U.S. embassy in Beirut said.

Hochstein will talk with the Lebanese officials about the land border with Israel and will likely visit the South to inspect UNIFIL peacekeepers and the gas drilling rig in Block 9, media reports said.

Pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper reported Wednesday that Hochstein will propose a new mediation aimed at finalizing the file of the land border between Lebanon and Israel and that "he wants to get it done quickly."

The daily added that Mikati would tell Hochstein that Lebanon would not be engaging in land border demarcation talks but rather in negotiations to highlight the already-demarcated international border between Lebanon and Palestine as it was before Israel's creation.

Mikati would also urge the United States to pressure Israel to withdraw from all the Lebanese territories that remain under occupation.

During Hochstein's meeting with Berri, the latter called for a halt of Israeli violations of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the full cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Israeli forces behind the Blue Line.