After Israel and Lebanon have reached a US-brokered agreement to settle their long-disputed maritime border, the Biden administration on Tuesday heaped praise on the deal that establishes a permanent maritime boundary between the two countries.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior US administration official stressed that the agreement is historic since it is the first boundary demarcation by mutual agreement between Israel and Lebanon that provides security and safety for Israel and economic opportunity and hope that Lebanon desperately needs.
The official added that the Lebanese waters could soon very well see rigs and infrastructure just as there is to the south and Israeli waters
Per President Joe Biden’s statement issued by the White House, it is now critical that all parties uphold their commitments and work towards implementation of the agreement after both Lebanon’s president and Israel’s prime minister confirmed that both governments’ readiness to move forward with the deal.
Biden also thanked current and past US officials for their years of diplomatic efforts to reach this deal that, according to him, is a result of the persistent US diplomacy paired with the readiness of Israel and Lebanon’s leaders to negotiate and ultimately choose what was in the best interests of their people.
The compromise deal that Lebanon and Israel reached is a direct result of diplomatic efforts led by US Special Presidential Coordinator Amos Hochstein, who also led US-led efforts to get Lebanon and Israel to demarcate their maritime boundary since being appointed by President Biden to be the State Department’s energy envoy last summer.
The final draft agreement that Hochstein presented Lebanon with on Monday night reportedly includes revisions Beirut sought out and a proposed compromise on the reservations expressed by the Israelis.
Citing purported security issues, Israeli officials ruled out any discussion on removing the line of buoys placed at sea by Israel years ago which Lebanon refused to recognize- creating a sticking point – suggesting that accepting this would impact the land border between the two countries, which an UN-demarcated Blue Line currently separates.
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