Washington: talks between Israel, Lebanon were constructive, will continue

The Ministry said that "the border talks between Lebanon and Israel today were constructive," adding that "the Lebanese and Israeli delegations confirmed their commitment to continue negotiations this month."

A joint statement by the United States and the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon on the Lebanese-Israeli maritime talks included: "Representatives from the governments of Israel, Lebanon and the United States met on October 14 to start discussions aimed at reaching consensus on a common maritime boundary between Israel and Lebanon. The negotiations were mediated and facilitated by the U.S. team led by Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker and Ambassador John DeRoucher, and hosted by the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis."

The statement added: "The Israeli delegation was headed by Director General of the Energy Ministry, Udi Adiri, and the Lebanese delegation was headed by the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations in the Lebanese Army, Brigadier General Bassam Yassin. During this initial meeting, the representatives held fruitful talks and reaffirmed their commitment to continue negotiations later this month."

For its part, the Israeli Ministry of Energy said: "The Israeli delegation to the talks on economic water between Israel and Lebanon held the first meeting with the Lebanese delegation at the UNIFIL base in Naqoura. The two sides discussed during the meeting procedures related to continuing talks between them, and set the agenda for the upcoming talks."

In a statement, the Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said that he agreed that the Israeli delegation to go ahead with the talks "to give the process a chance."

On Wednesday morning, the Lebanese and Israeli delegations held at the United Nations headquarters in Naqoura in southern Lebanon a negotiation session on demarcating the maritime borders between the two countries, which was done by extreme secrecy. Several sources confirmed that a second round of negotiations will be held between the two countries on 28 October.

D.H